Butterflies and Hurricanes
by Lady Annaline
Summary: Voldemort is gone, but his Legacy lives on in a new form, with new followers and new consequences. Rose Weasley, Scorpius and Jasmine Malfoy, Jayde Weste, Beatrice and Hydrus Black and Indigo Kastal. Friends, Enemies and Allies. Betrayal, hatred, truth.
1. To Leave is to Run

**Disclaimer: Not mine - never has been and never will! And the title doesn't belong to me either, it belongs to Muse. Though the song lyrics do fit perfectly but that's another issue entirely!**

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Rose Weasley looked around the busy station with an almost calculated interest. Vaguely listening to her father's warning about being in Gryffindor, she tucked a strand of frizzy ginger hair behind her ears, despairing at the hairband that was supposed to be doing it for her. She peered over at her cousins who were arguing again. They had the subtlety of charging hippogriffs – could they be any louder?

In many ways she wished she wouldn't be in Gryffindor, all the noise and the holier than thou attitudes. She knew that she was certainly smart enough for Ravenclaw, and though she seldom admitted it, cunning enough for Slytherin. But her family would practically disown her for ending up in there. And she was a Weasley. Weasleys by definition were Gryffindor.

She was brought out of her reverie by a female voice saying "Rose – you need to get over the other end of the platform. Your mother is just popping to the loo with Hugo. She'll be back to wave you off"

"Okay Aunt Ginny" she replied, looking around. She felt incredibly guilty for blanking her mother – it had taken a lot of work for her to get the time off today in order to come. She was suddenly bumped by someone passing by.

"Sorry" came a slick voice, well bred from the sounds of thing. She turned her gaze fully onto her 'attacker', dropping her trunk onto the floor, and looked into the stormy grey eyes of a platinum blond boy. His eyebrows rose as he spotted the wand she had automatically flicked out of its holster on her arm. She blushed.

"That's fine – Scorpius isn't it?" She asked, trying to casually put her wand away. She had heard of him and his father. Their parents had been enemies, even more so now as Scorpius's grandfather, Lucius Malfoy was trying for Minister of Magic. The man's policy's seemed sound she supposed but if what her mother said was correct (she didn't trust her dad's opinions very often when it came to discerning people's personalities), the Malfoys were a bunch to be avoided. And to top it all off, Lucius Malfoy and his son were the founders of the Knights of Walpurgis.

The KoW was something Rose didn't believe in at all, yet surprisingly almost 50% of the wizarding population did. They were a group that believed that muggleborns were a danger to the community, taking pureblood jobs, ruining the economy and being unable to do complex occupations safely due to a lack of growing up in a magical environment. That was absolute rubbish considering her mother was a muggleborn and was the best researcher that St Mungo's had!

Scorpius looked down at her and she bristled. "Yes, it is" he said eventually, as though evaluating every word, analysing every possible reaction yet all without displaying a single emotion himself. "And you, you're Rose Weasley aren't you? The daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, nee Granger?"

He said her parents' names as though experiencing a particularly bad smell. She'd heard from her father that his grandmother often sported a similar expression and it made her look, in her father's words 'ridiculous like'. But for some reason, on this young boy in front of her, it looked almost natural. It betrayed his noble and rich heritage.

"Yes" she slowly replied "But you knew that anyway. Your Grandfather has been attempting to lose my mother her job ever since his campaign started. Old grudge perhaps?"

"Merely an expressed worry over how your mother's heritage will affect her work. Substandard work in her vocation could mean catastrophe for the wizarding world, especially the vulnerable"

"However, I'm sure that your grandfather is also aware that my mother's products undergo rigorous testing before becoming available to the public"

"What my grandfather is anxious to know, is why such rigorous testing is required if not because even your mother knows that she is prone to mistakes, perhaps due to the fact she has not been a part of the wizarding medical system her whole life?"

Rose was about to answer when she heard her little brother run towards her "Rose – Lily's being mean to me"

"I'm very sorry but I have to go now. Perhaps I will see you at school" Rose said through gritted teeth, unsure whether her annoyance was more due to the arrogant boy in front of her, or because of her brother interrupting at the most awkward moment.

Scorpius inclined his head at her "Pleasure"

She felt his eyes on her back all the way to the small family scene she was being dragged to by Hugo. She held her brother close. Their parents had been arguing more and more recently, and their arguments had been fantastic before. It was because of mother's job

"What do you mean that you don't know where Crook is" her mother was all but screaming at her father

"Well you know how little he likes being in a cage. He is technically a wild animal you know" her father tried to defend himself, cringing away as Hermione sent him a sharp glare

"Of course I know – I was the one who told you that. Idiot man!"

"Well – I can't remember you telling me that! In fact I can't even remember you being at home at all. Have you left work at all recently?"

Crook was Rose's cat, and as the name suggested, the descendant of the infamous Crookshanks of Hermione's childhood. He disappeared into the woods behind the Weasley house one day and somehow reappeared a few panicked months later with six kits, as obviously it was the father who reared the children after their first 3 months. They had sold most of the ¾ kneazle cubs but Crook refused to be parted from the eldest daughter of his father's mistress.

"He's here mum" Rose called, trying to defuse the situation as quickly as she could, feeling the warm fur wind around her legs. She bent down and picking him up with one hand, put him on her shoulder. Crook was the runt of the litter and was very small, especially by kneazle standards. He was ginger with the large, house elf like ears that favoured his maternal species. He had also inherited his father's 'run into a brick wall' face but Rose adored him.

She watched passively as her mother ran to Hugo who had begun crying about them 'getting a divorce' They'd had this discussion multiple time, though worryingly over the years the conversation had morphed from a 'the situation would never occur' talk, to a 'if it did happen' talk.

The whistle rang again, indicating the train's imminent departure from the station and Rose was pushed and pulled with the crowd towards the train. She leaned out of the window as soon as was humanely possible so she could wave to her mother and father. The train began to move. She could vaguely hear her mother calling to her "Goodbye sweetheart – have a good time. We'll write to you. Say hello to Neville for us" or words to that effect.

She stayed by the window until the station was just a pinprick in the distance. It was only then, in the silence of the corridor did Rose feel a lump in her throat. "Bye mum, dad" she whispered to herself, before shaking her head. This was no time to feel apprehensive. She dragged her trunk behind her so she could get to the 'Weasley compartment', refusing the canary cream that George and Angelina's son, Fred, immediately offered her. Thinking about that, she still had to get Fred back for that little stunt he pulled on her over the holidays. She'd do that soon, she thought as she sank onto the seat, the inane chatter she had missed barely seconds ago, making her long for the corridor again.

* * *

Scorpius sat in the compartment, careful to show none of the relief he was feeling inside. He had stumbled over Miss Weasley's trunk quite by accident, though he thought that the situation went quite well. He had kept polite, made logical arguments. She sounded as intelligent or perhaps more so than her mother at that age. She was a half blood so he supposed she had at least a partway education. Then again, according to father, she had gone to a muggle school, on her mudblood mother's insistence. So where did she fit on Grandfather Lucius' scheme?

It didn't matter. He wasn't going to get friendly with her – the fallout from his father's rage was enough to tell him that. It was only his perfect self control that seemed to stop Malfoy Sr. from exploding on the platform. Even then, as he spoke to his son in soft, disapproving tones, his eyes raged with a burn worse than the Cruciatus curse itself. Scorpius shuddered.

"What's the matter oh dear brother of mine?" came a sweet feminine voice from across the compartment, at the door.

"Oh go away Jasmine" he said wearily, really not in the mood to have a conversation with her.

"Aww – poor thing. Is daddy mad with you?" she mocked, ignoring what he had just said. She walked in and sat on the empty seat, leaving the door open. He knew that the compartment wouldn't be empty for long – the rest of the old pureblood families still looked up to the noble Malfoy line. He was a prince amongst them, that he had always been taught.

He sat up straight and made his face blank "Must you sit there?" he asked derisively, a perfect imitation of his father.

"Oh don't go all 'I am the son and heir of Draco Malfoy' on me Scorpius. It doesn't work"

"You're giving me a headache" he said, still emotionless

"You get that from you mother you know – such a delicate creature she was"

She smirked as Scorpius jumped up and slammed the door closed "Shut up Jasmine – someone will hear" His voice was calm but his eyes betrayed the panic he was truly feeling. Delicate was the opposite of Astoria Malfoy.

"Of course my lovely _twin _brother. I'm going to write a letter to mother" She walked out of the compartment before turning around, as though as an afterthought "Perhaps you should write to your own lovely mother" Her face hardened "Oh – I forgot, you can't"

The door closed before the spell hit, a black scorch mark smoking in the wood. He ran out after her, his magic crackling almost out of control. Standing in the corridor, the familiar hum of talk from the other compartments soothed him. Reluctantly he turned back into his compartment, to compose himself ready for his to-be-Slytherin followers. He sank back on the seat, the silence of the compartment making him long for the corridor again.

* * *

Jasmine walked silently up the corridor, directing a group of her friends to her 'brother's' compartment. She felt the beginning of anger at the thought of her 'sibling'. She was just as good as him and more pure, more deserving, of the Malfoy name and fortune. Not that stupid half-blood that father spent so much money to protect.

She took a breath and calmed down. Perfect Malfoy control - that was what she'd been taught from her first conscious thought. Don't let anyone see your true emotions – they could only be used against you. She was female Slytherin, manipulative and cunning. Again, she had been taught to use this to her best advantage. No male, not even her father, had any idea of what went on behind closed door with her lessons with Grandmother Narcissa. She had no specific mission at the moment, no target, just to be liked by all, to be popular, sweet and helpful, the epitome of pureblood breeding. As well as being the chairperson of the junior KoW club. Be a role model. Follow the cause. Be a Malfoy.

She smiled brightly and popped her head into a random compartment, empty bar one first year girl, silent and brooding, peering at something in the distant view of the window. "Hey – can I sit with you? I've pretty much been kicked out of my own compartment" she said. Her mission had begun.

* * *

Beatrice was daydreaming, bored as could be on the train ride. She had managed to intimidate herself a private compartment, using her mother's glare. But it was due to the aforementioned boredom that made her look up to see the pale skinned, blue eyed girl looking expectantly at her.

She didn't smile. She curled a length of dark wavy hair around a long finger, ignoring the girl's unnaturally bright expression as she said "Mmm hmm"

Her hand fell to the pocket of her robes, concealing her wand. She sighed as her lips twitched into a wide smile that didn't reach her eyes. The girl looked partially interested in her. Obviously she had been taught to read expressions.

Her eyes widened, making her resemblance to her mother more pronounced "Of course I don't mind" Her stare was intense, enough to cause many to make excuses and walk away. This girl wasn't one of them. Interesting, she should probably make a relatively good impression. "Beatrice Black"

The girl ran down the corridor, lilac ringlets bouncing on her shoulders and her newly donned robes flying out behind her.

"Aha!" she cried triumphantly as she scooped up the creature scampering ahead of her. The moniter lizard curled up instantly against her warm breast and went to sleep much to her exasperation. "Stupid animal – making me run after you" The reptile turned navy blue as though in reply.

Still watching her annoying familiar, she didn't see the girl in front of her until she had already crashed into her. "I'm so sorry" Her eyes turned a pale yellow with embarrassment as she looked at her poor victim.

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**I may not own the story but I will hopefully own some of those lovely little things called reviews! So please think of the little author who owns nothing but the plot and some of the characters, and review today!**


	2. Blood and Water

**Disclaimer: If it was mine I... I'm not sure what I'd be doing precisely but it wouldn't be this I'm sure! This belongs to the amazing J.K. All bow down. And the title belongs to Muse**

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Jasmine looked up, suppressing the annoyance that flashed in her green eyes as she was almost knocked over. She placed a forgiving smile on her face, looking into the yellow orbs of her attacker "That's OK. As I was saying – I'm Jasmine Malfoy. And you are?"

She mentally chided herself for letting the emotions appear for even a second on her face. Yes, it was too quick for the unpractised eye to pick up, but she was a Malfoy. She had standards. She turned her concentration back towards the girl who appeared to be replying.

"I'm Indigo Kastel and this here is Oana. I'm related to Nymphadora Tonks, hence the eyes and hair. She was a cousin of mine, well a couple of times removed. Pleased to meet you" Her eyes went to a dark brown as she calmed "Umm" she suddenly looked awkward "Can I sit with you please. I can't really find a seat anywhere else"

Beatrice rolled her eyes and leant her head against the window. What had happened to her private compartment? She adjusted the white and gold rose in her intricately tied up hair. It was getting too noisy in here.

Jasmine, upon getting no affirmative from the original occupant of the compartment turned to Indigo and said "I've just joined this compartment myself, hence the standing outside where people could run into me whilst chasing a lizard!" She smiled to show she was joking before going to sit in the compartment. Indigo followed. "Nymphadora Tonks was a very brave woman and such an important element of the war effort. You must be proud to be related to her. I know I am, however distantly" She bowed her head as though in respect, working out how useful it would be to have a metamorphmagus as a friend.

Indigo beamed but didn't reply as she stroked the sleeping lizard on her knee. It was Beatrice who looked up and said in a bored voice "The train will be arriving soon"

Jasmine ignored her completely, only vaguely nodding in response to the statement, preferring to go onto a different topic altogether. "You said your name was Black right?" Beatrice nodded warily, wondering where this sudden energy had come from "That means we're all related! How exciting!" It wasn't particularly thrilling news, especially to Jasmine who spent the better part of her life memorising old pureblood family trees. Almost all purebloods were related – like a very hostile extended family.

There was a knock on the door and everyone turned around. Scorpius walked in, every part the big brother "I'm sorry to disturb you ladies but I wanted to make sure my sister had her robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon"

Feeling slightly sick, Jasmine ran up to him and jumped up and down, using his arms as supports, acting like a young child. "Guess what Scorp" Her voice was filled with excitement "Those two are related to us. Isn't that exciting?"

Her voice was childlike and she had to refrain from hitting him as a patient, long suffering smile came to his face "That's really cool Jaz – I'll find you later when we reach school. We can go on the boat together" he smiled properly at her, aiming so only she could see the smug look in his eyes "Have fun"

She wanted to hit something. This was the brilliant plan her father had thought up. Act childish to make Scorpius look mature and a natural leader. Make herself look vulnerable so he looked caring and protective. Get bad grades so he could help her and look intelligent. Make herself small in order for him to take the lead. That was all she was good for now. She was to be married off, have children, and be dependant, like a good little pureblood girl.

It made her so angry. It was her inheritance. She had been trained to receive it as soon as they figured Astoria had become infertile. She had been promised to be the Queen of Slytherin, but now she had been demoted to 'relative of'. Now she was a girl again. Great!

* * *

Scorpius wandered down the corridor, his new robes on. He hadn't even bothered to worry about what house he would be in. His green Slytherin robes were packed in his trunk and ready to go. He stood silently in the corridor until he saw a flash of ginger hair. A Weasley?

"It's you again" came a familiar voice and Scorpius had to suppress a smile at the amount of outrage that only three words could contain. He smoothed his face

"Yes, I do believe it is" he said, so arrogantly, the Weasley girl literally had to count to three before she could reply.

"So, you back to antagonise me yet again? Following me perhaps?" Her voice was still hard, but had relaxed some since her last sentence.

"Well I can assure that I am not following you" he replied

"You could have – who knows how many dark tracking spells you know? You are a Malfoy after all!"

"And people say that Slytherin is the prejudiced house"

"I bear no ill will with Slytherins – just one who thinks blood line should affect the giving out and subsequent keeping of jobs, namely my mothers"

"So you admit that you cannot be an unbiased person in this debate?" he said, a small triumphant smirk appearing on his features.

"Can you?" she replied, matching his expression

"Touché"

"Quite- now if you'll excuse me, my cousins are waiting" She walked quickly past him down the corridor.

"Make up a new excuse next time you leave me" he called down after her, for a moment forgetting his Malfoy decorum. Her laugh rang down the corridor, unintentionally making him smile.

"What next time?" she asked, over her shoulder, leaving him no time to reply as she slipped into her compartment and out of the quiet of the corridor.

* * *

Rose Weasley had no patience with her family. She decided this, a scant five minutes after she had returned to her compartment with them complaining. "Gods – I'd be better off with Scorpius" she murmured under her breath, wondering when she had started calling him by his first name. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who picked up on the usage.

"Scorpius? As in Draco Malfoy's son? You were talking to him on the platform" Fred's voice was accusing. Roxanne looked up at her brother and put her hand on his arm to placate his obnoxiously quick temper.

"Yes – so?" Rose relied, seeing the issue immediately despite playing dumb.

"He's a Slytherin" James said, confirming Rose's assessment of the problem. Roxanne sighed and sent a sympathetic look towards her cousin.

"Not yet he isn't" Rose argued, even to her ears a weak argument "And what does it matter what house he is. They are just a School pointing system"

"No it isn't" Albus said, picking up the conversation "It says what you are. Everyone knows that Slytherin is where all the bad ones go. And he is a Malfoy. He's certain to be in Slytherin"

"He's like a Death Eater in training" Molly, continued, looking an awful lot like her father as she gazed down her nose disapprovingly at Rose.

"The war is over you lot. You only got that phrase from Uncle Harry and you know your mother doesn't like you using it" Rose was getting exasperated as a second year Lucy copied her sister's judging look.

"But the point still stands" Domanique took over the lecture, her normally pale blue eyes dark "The battle may be over but the war isn't. You shouldn't associate with him Rose. It's dangerous, not to mention a betrayal to our side. Have you forgotten what his father has done? What his grandfather is doing?"

"So the sins of the father are the sins of the son?" she asked hotly, wondering for a moment why she was defending him, apart from the fact he was the only intelligent conversation that she'd ever really had from someone her own age "I thought we were beyond such prejudices"

"Be careful of what you say – your heads are surrounded by Wrakspurts" Lorcan said, his eyes peering over his copy of The Quibbler. Lysander looked up at his twin brother's words and nodded. They were both ignored.

"He's dangerous Rosie. A dark wizard in training. Stay away from him" Victoire said, taking authority as the eldest in the compartment.

"I'll stay away from who I like" Rose hissed and went to leave the compartment, her dramatic exit hindered slightly by the cat she had to put onto her shoulder to stop him from swiping her cousins in his mistress' defence. She reduced her trunk so she could put it into her pocket and stood in the corridor. Now where was she going to go?

She looked absent mindedly at a page of magazine that had been ripped out and left on the floor. How ironic that it was an advertisement of the KoW.

_Save pureblood jobs and make the world a fairer place_

How did scorning and laying off hard working people just for their unfortunate bloodline count as fair?

"You defended me vehemently in there" He said, sounding slightly surprised. She didn't even look up at his silent entry. Of course he had been there, listening. "You went against your whole family for me? Why?"

She sighed and regarded him, looking far older than her years. She had seen hell due to her mother's bloodline and both of her parent's statuses. The first time she could remember them being attacked was when she was 5 years old and a letter had managed to get through the censorship, releasing a gaseous potion. Voldemort's unnamed supporters. It had taken 6 months for the house had been habitable again, not that either Ron or Hermione Weasley went back to live there. They had Auror guards, they moved house constantly. Rose received special permission to have a wand on her before the customary 11 years so she could try and defend herself if necessary. And that was without her mother's lineage.

She couldn't remember the last time her mother had truly smiled, really had a day off. She couldn't recall the last time that they had managed to spend proper time together as a family. Just mother, father, Hugo and herself, like any other family would and could.

She knew Hermione Weasley wanted more children but couldn't. She worked late into the nights and started early in the mornings. She had constant dark circles under her eyes, frequently missed meals, struggled to justify any time off so she could see school plays, concerts, parents' evenings and Rose knew that it killed her.

And it was all because of what she was. In the end it didn't matter about her contribution to the war effort, it didn't matter about degrees, NEWTs, OWLs, experience or anything else they could name, because being the 'brightest witch of her age' meant nothing in comparison to the one thing that mattered in the end – blood.

She watched the bullying replay in her head, the spitting, teasing, pushing and shoving that had her taken out of Wizarding schools and placed into a muggle school along with her brother. They were halfbloods, the son and daughter of one of the oldest pureblood families around, yet they still paid the price of their single, 'mudblood' parent.

She looked back up at Scorpius who was waiting patiently for an answer. "No-one deserves to be judged on blood alone. The wizarding world and your grandfather taught me that"

He stood there for a second before looking her in the eye and nodding seriously. He watched her walk away from him, to find another compartment.

He doubted that she ever heard his softly spoken thank you.

* * *

The compartment had fallen into silence after all three of the girls had gotten changed. As they stood in their plain black robes, Jasmine asked "What house are you after then?"

"I really don't mind" Indigo replied "Although being in Hufflepuff would be a bit of a blow. I'd quite like to be in Gryffindor like most of my family"

Jasmine almost groaned when she heard Indigo's ambitions. Keeping up relations when in opposing houses would be very tricky, especially when only being 'friends' for an hour on the train. She nodded at Beatrice who smiled widely.

"Slytherin" she breathed, knowing that only the best could get into that house "My mother would like me to"

"I'm apparently a dead cert for Slytherin as well" Jasmine picked up the conversation quickly, refusing to allow another awkward silence to reign over them "But the other houses wouldn't be that bad I suppose. I really, really, really, really hope that I'm not in Hufflepuff. Nothing against the house at all but wouldn't it be embarrassing – the first Malfoy with a badger mascot!"

Beatrice laughed again, though this time it was dark, sarcastic and full of disdain. "The Malfoy name fell from grace before you and I were even born… they are naught now what they were then. I shouldn't be surprised if we soon see a Malfoy badger"

Jasmine's eyes narrowed "You know not of which you speak" she said, falling back into the clipped, articulate voice she was taught at the age of five "The Malfoy line is as great as it once was. Everyone knows that Grandfather Lucius was under the imperious curse, as was my father, and both were so sorry for what they had done, they donated copious amounts of money to help rebuild the Ministry, Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and St Mungo's. My father now runs Azkaban, and Grandfather Lucius is by far the favourite to be elected as Minister of Magic.

She spoke the well worn argument that she had repeated so many times, it was only her impeccable acting skills that kept it alive. She agreed with Beatrice. The Malfoys had fallen from grace and she was going to be the one to change that. She was going to be the first true heiress of Malfoy, to prove that Malfoys could change. But Scorpius had to ruin that.

Beatrice merely looked amused at the argument, but narrowed her eyes in an imitation of the girl "You know as well as I what happened in those times. Don't pretend that you alone know… cousin"

"What happened in the war is before our time and not something that we need to revisit. Such feuds are over. The good won" Again it was a lie, spoken between her teeth, but public appearances were more important than her true beliefs.

"If you say so" Beatrice said in a voice that clearly stated that she did not believe Jasmine in the slightest. Indigo just looked between the two, her hair switching from lilac to black in anxiety. She opened her mouth to say something just as Beatrice said "I wouldn't press the subject – it's a bit delicate"

Indigo stopped, wondering whether that was said for her benefit or for Jasmine's. Beatrice continued "I suggest you don't discuss it with my brother. He may not be as lenient as I"

"And what brother might this be? I was unaware of this part of the family line in any case – it would be so much fun to learn more" Jasmine's voice was filled with such sweetness and her smile so genuine, Indigo found it hard to comprehend the mood swing.

"Oh – he's starting this year too. He's my twin but we look absolutely nothing alike" Beatrice smiled "I warn you though – he has a very quick temper"

"Interesting – I hope I'll meet him soon. Do you think he's with my brother?"

"Perhaps he is. He prefers intelligent company" Beatrice gracefully crossed her legs.

Jasmine's eyes narrowed slightly "Was that an insult or a compliment towards Scorpius?" Personally she hoped for an insult. They were more fun, even if she wasn't permitted to be appreciative out loud.

"You make up your own mind about that" Beatrice smirked "Although I highly doubt that it is in your favour"

* * *

**I'm going to try and update this once a week and my chapters will be no less that 2000 words. That it my hope anyway! I'll update on the Monday - Fanfiction wasn't working hence the late update! I swear I was this close to being driven away by the nice men in the white coats! If anyone else is having trouble with the 'Type 2' error, PM me and I'll send you the 'fixit' Pretty please review - it is the bread and butter for all of us writers.**

**Please?**


	3. Semiramis' Children

**Disclaimer: I've checked under the bed, I've checked between the sofa and the cushion, I've even checked within the mass of wires behind the computer but I have found no Potterverse in my collection. I have unfortunately been left to conclude that this is in fact, not mine, but in fact one JK Rowling.**

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A tall male figure appeared in the doorway "Excuse me but is this compartment free?"

Without waiting for a reply he moved swiftly in and sat on Scorpius' side, a place where none of the other purebloods had dared to go. He flicked the long blond of his ponytail behind one shoulder and moved his side parted fringe out of his eyes. Scorpius looked up, appearing vaguely amused at his choice of seating.

"And you may be?" Scorpius said with a casual interest "And why do you look like a younger version of Grandfather Lucius?" He didn't move his eyes from their resumed position of staring at the fast moving scenery outside. He ignored the question from Arriana Rosier sitting opposite him, and the grunts of acknowledgment from Crabbe and Goyle, whom he could have sworn were even thicker than the originals.

The boy leaned his head on the back of the seat "I look like Lucius – why I never noticed" The sarcasm made the entire compartment tense.

"That did not answer my question" Scorpius continued, turning his face from the window to look at the new arrival. "The only two possibilities I can think of are that you are a clone or just related. And I wouldn't put it past my grandfather for you to be the former" His lips twitched as he listened to the laughter of rest of the compartment, laughter that was silenced with the slightest shake of his head. "However I will go on a limb and say the latter is more likely"

"In which case you'd be correct then, hmm?" he said quietly, eying Scorpius' mob with disgust

Scorpius sighed, the soft sound clearly saying 'you should just do as I tell you'. With a long suffering patience he said patronisingly "Now, couldn't that have been said previously?" He stopped before casually continuing "I have not heard you mentioned before. I know that grandfather had a brother but he was disowned for marrying a mud- muggleborn. Are you born of them?"

The boy was up in a flash "How dare you" he hissed, his eyes narrowing "I am a pureblood – make no doubt about that" For a second he looked slightly unhinged.

"I was not suggesting that there was a defect in your education in anyway" Scorpius said, hiding how he was slightly disturbed by his apparent relative's expression. Definitely inbred "Just that, to be related to me that closely, you could have been of that line. However disgraceful that brother may have acted, it his not his descendants fault. Now will you give me your name?"

The boy sat back down, his hands in his robes at his wand. Scorpius noticed and nodded surreptitiously at Crabbe and Goyle. They sat up straighter. "Hydrus" the boy said after a while.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it? I was beginning to wonder whether you were capable of making intelligent conversation at all" Scorpius said, delighting at the chance to mock the boy. He was disturbing somehow, reminding him of something long since hidden in the backs of his memory.

Hydrus sighed "In which case it would seem you are the unintelligent one, seeing as I have made it quite clear I do not wish to engage in conversation at this moment"

Scorpius gave up the casual defence and replied "However, I have made it clear that conversation is required and wanted in this compartment" He signalled to Crabbe and Goyle, who went obediently to the sides of the compartment doors. They may be as thick as a brick but they were literally born and bred to be body guards. They had been taught the 'delicate' art of brawling, could knock someone out with one blow to the head, were built like rhinoceroses and could somehow, though Scorpius could never figure it out, know exactly when their charge was in danger.

He looked at Hydrus, allowing a sinister smile to grace his lips, covering how bored he was with this power display. But he had to follow his father. He had to have everyone under his thumb, be it by fear, respect, awe, blood. And let no-one in - ever.

Hydrus didn't seem fazed. "Oh little Malfoy" he sighed eventually, making a big show of being unimpressed "If you wish to intimidate me, find a more effective way to do it won't you?" He withdrew his wand and studied it closely "Someone might get hurt"

Scorpius lay back arrogantly on the seats as the other purebloods in the carriage drew their wands. As if any of them knew how to cast any more than a couple of party tricks. He raised his hand and they sat back down obediently. "Let the little mudblood go. I don't really want him sullying our compartment for much longer. If he tries anything again, I'll tell father. He can think over his actions in Azkaban.

"Oh I don't think so… mother might have something to say" Hydrus replied, sounding incredibly cocky for someone who'd just received a threat of such magnitude.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow "Oh really? And who may I ask is your mother that she can go against the soon to be Minister of Magic and the Head of Azkaban?" His voice said plainer than anything how little he thought of Hydrus' 'mother'.

Suddenly Hydrus burst out laughing, a cackling, half mad laugh. Scorpius jerked, going white as his hands trembled slightly. Flashes – red of blood. The screaming. The flash of green light. That awful female cackle - piercing, mad.

"Get out" he said, his voice black. Everyone in the carriage took it as a warning and stood away, Crabbe and Goyle preparing to bodily remove the boy from the compartment. Hydrus stood up and smirked "I'll just say that she knows them both, how can I say it, very well. I'm so glad we had this chat"

He left the compartment without another word, an unnatural fluidity to him as he stood and dragged his trunk behind him.

When he had fully exited the compartment Arriana looked a Scorpius, worry on her face "Are you OK? You don't look too good? Do you need a healer?"

"I'm fine" Scorpius replied, squashing the feeling of nausea. He forced a smile on his face, a smug, satisfied smirk "Complete nutter isn't he? I really hope he isn't in Slytherin – I'd hate to sully the house"

He reached up to get his trunk, wishing once again that reducing spell were taught earlier than in 6th year. It would make life easier. He got a book out and began to read, an old book of his mother's, immersing himself in a world where Witches and Wizards were mere fantasy.

* * *

Rose Weasley had been wondering the corridors for the past 10 minutes, getting bored out of her mind. All the compartments were either full, already had a circle of friends in, or looked so unforgiving that she'd rather risk the emptiness of the corridor.

"At least I haven't got to carry a heavy trunk hey Crook?" she asked the cat on her shoulder, stroking him behind his ears. He answered with a muffled meow before purring loudly. She had reached the last passenger carrying carriage of the train when Crook hissed.

"Crook – what's wrong?" She asked. Crook was an excellent judge of character – all Kneazles were, having the inherent trait of seeing exactly what a person was. That was why Crookshanks could so easily tell that 'Scabbers' wasn't what he appeared. Crook had a habit of hissing, spitting and scratching anyone who went against his mistress or whom he considered a threat, basically anyone bar Hermione and apparently Scorpius. Yet this frenzied hissing and whimpering made Rose pay attention. Something was wrong. Crooks only acted like this around merpeople (one had tried to eat him when he had gotten too close to the lake), around ghosts, around animagi (since Uncle Harry turned into a Lion next to him as a kitten and made him jump) and around serious threats.

The only one possible here was the last one. Yet if it was someone untrustworthy, the usually response would be to attack the aforementioned untrustworthy person, not this pining and nuzzling. That was reserved for the merpeople and ghosts.

Rose, against her better nature, went into the carriage, where Crook's sight immediately set onto a solitary figure in the middle of the corridor. Grasping her wand in one hand and holding tight to Crook with the other she walked towards the girl, saying loudly, in an affectionate tone "Silly boy – it's just a student"

The girl swung around quickly and Rose jumped back, holding her wand tighter. Crook went to jump off her shoulder and escape. She caught him with one hand saying "Oh no you don't. You can't escape now"

She began to relax slightly – Crook would never try to leave her if it was truly dangerous, no matter how frightened he was. The Kneazle in question shot her a baleful glare, reluctantly settling down against Rose's chest, sending hateful glances at the student.

Finally looking up Rose said "Hi – I'm sorry to bother you but my cat has decided to take an immediate disliking to you so I'd thought I'd prove him wrong on his assumption that you would attempt to kill me on sight"

She smiled embarrassedly at the girl, taking her first proper look. She frowned. Maybe Crook was correct – this girl didn't look right. Her skin seemed off colour, almost grey, as though she were ill. Her eyes were too large for her face, and had a startling deep blue hue that melted into jade green then somehow back to deep blue. Her nose was the opposite of her eyes, being too small and her hair hung in dark, wet strands, as though she had just that second stepped out of water. The girl looked at her patiently, smiling slightly. Rose shuddered at the sight of slightly pointed teeth. Definitely not pure human.

She coughed, embarrassed of having stared at the girl for so long. "Rose Weasley" she said holding her hand out. The girl took it. Her hand was too cold and felt slightly damp and almost slimy. It reminded Rose of the seaweed that had wrapped around her brother's leg whilst on holiday, making him shout "Jellyfish!" at the top of his voice, giving mother and the rest of the beach a heart attack.

The girl suddenly lost the amused expression and looked out into the distance "I'm sorry – you caught me whilst my glamour was down. I trust you won't tell anyone?" Rose shook her head, seemingly shell-shocked as the girl took her wand and murmured the words of an illusion spell that should have been way beyond a first year's abilities. The change was immediate. The strange pallor of her skin disappeared, her hair become bouncy, rich curls and her nose a regular size. Apart from her eyes, which though were smaller, still retained their strange colouring, she looked normal, normal enough to get away with at school anyway.

"I'm Jayde West" the girl suddenly said, smiling. Her teeth were still pointed by not half as much as they were before. The formal tone had completely disappeared.

"That's an advanced spell for a first year" Rose said, not mentioning that she could perform hundreds of spells advanced for a first year as well.

Jayde nodded pensively "It was a requirement for me coming here this year. It's my party piece really – I can't do anything besides. You could see why it was necessary"

Rose nodded, whilst mentally chiding herself into going through her extensive memory banks to figure out where she could recognise the myriad of features that had adorned Jayde's face merely minutes before. Her face lit up "Professor Weste"

Jayde's face froze "What did you say?"

"You're half mermaid – but they're meant to be a myth. Then again – mother always said never dismiss anything just because you haven't seen it. Are you related to Professor Weste, the Marine Biologist, specialising on merfolk children. I read his paper years ago and was fascinated. I mean his work is so detailed, so rare. A work of fiction in the eyes of many but no wonder it is so good if he has a daughter like you. It's almost impossible to find his work. Plus it was taken out of circulation recently. I haven't seen anyone who's known of it bar Hagrid, mum and I. I'm sure there are others I haven't met. I have so many questions – I've always wanted to do a thesis on water/land creatures" She stopped herself "Sorry – I didn't mean to go off like that. I have a small obsession with learning new things and…" She trailed off as she realised Jayde's eyes had gone wide and she had begun trembling.

Jayde reached for Rose's hand "Please don't tell anyone. You're the daughter of the war heroes, a half blood. You know what its like out there. They'll kill me"

Rose looked shocked "Of course I won't tell. Who am I to judge you on your blood?" Crook squirmed against her chest. She ignored him.

Jayde looked so relieved, Rose was afraid that she'd faint "Thank you. Was it really that obvious? Father said that his work wasn't too well known, and wasn't recognised so I should be relatively safe here"

"It isn't – well known I mean. And no marine biologist really takes it seriously. They cannot comprehend the idea of half mer children. There is no proof bar you and I'm assuming your father keeps you safe from them"

Jayde looked down, suddenly looking quite sad. She opened her mouth as though to say something, then closed it again. Rose went to reach out, to draw her out of her stupor. She flinched away "I really would prefer it if you didn't treat me like a specimen though. I've had that much too much in my life"

"How does me touching you make you an experiment. And why would I treat you like a specimen" Rose looked confused "Oh – because of those questions back then. I'm sorry – I don't want you to be an experiment. I was actually hoping to be your friend"

Jayde looked shocked "Friends – with me?" Rose stiffened imperceptibly, waiting for the laughter and the refusal. She was shocked when the half mer's face broke out into a full blown smile "Of course I will!"

"Oh good then – I was beginning to wonder. Oh go away then you stupid cat!" She allowed the feline to drop to the floor and slink away "Find me later" she called after him. He looked around, blinked at her before carrying on. She looked at Jayde "He's part Kneazle so he is pretty much aware of what I say to him. It sucks because he sulks for days if I call him anything his sensitive little ears can't take"

Jayde laughed "I can imagine"

Rose looked up, at a loss of what to say that wasn't related to the thousands of questions running through her head. Eventually she decided on "What house do you think you'll be in then?"

Jayde suddenly looked downcast "I hope…" she began before shaking her head "I just don't want to be in Slytherin. They'd torture me if they found out about" She gestured to herself.

"There are people in every house who would be happy to torture you because of what you are. It's just that it's mainly the people in Slytherin who have been taught the means to carry out such torture. You are not safe in any house – surely you must have known that before you decided to come here. Surely your father must have known"

"He didn't want me to come" Jayde interrupted "I pushed and pushed until he agreed. Perhaps I should have listened"

Rose smiled reassuringly "Don't worry – it's just the minority who would be willing to harm you"

"But all will judge" Jayde said

"Most of the student body's parents are in the KoW and the Young Defender: Hogwarts Branch has been one of the most popular school club ever since it started 5 years ago" She regarded the girl with sympathy, not returning the mournful smile she had been flashed. The atmosphere became heavy.

"Well there's no point regretting it now! We're about 5 minutes away!" The atmosphere immediately lightened as she made a face "I'll be in Gryffindor like all the Weasleys. Personally I'd rather not be in a house of loud mouthed, unsubtle, unintelligent children but there you go. I'll be disowned for going anywhere else!"

Jayde laughed, a musical sound that captivated Rose for a moment. "You have the siren's call" she noted. Jayde blushed slightly and nodded.

"Don't worry – prolonged exposure will desensitise you to it" Jayde offered and Rose grinned.

"Then prolonged exposure it must be"

* * *

Jasmine had been chatting animatedly with Indigo when the compartment door opened, revealing a miniature Lucius with darker blond hair. She stopped talking to Indigo and said "Your brother?" to Beatrice, whom she had been pointedly ignoring for the last half an hour of the train journey.

Beatrice nodded sharply as she rose from her seat and followed her brother into the crowds of people making a mad dash to the exits of the train.

"Complete nutter isn't she? Hope she isn't in Slytherin – I don't think I could take sharing a dorm with her, do you?" She had been spending the last of the train ride subliminally trying to make Indigo want to be in Slytherin. She had no idea if it worked but anything that could help her would be good.

They made it to the platform and Jasmine saw Scorpius waving to them, his eyes shining with excitement. She had to give it to him; he really was a good actor for only 4 years training. He rarely slipped up, despite her best efforts. "Let's stand by Scorpius and the others!" Indigo followed meekly.

"Hello Jaz!" Scorpius said, giving his younger sibling a one armed hug. She snuggled into it, whilst shooting him an annoyed glare meant only for him. The smugness that gleamed back at her told her he did it purposefully. She gave him an innocent expression "Scorpius – could you please take my trunk over to the cargo bit over there. Please"

He gave a theatrical sigh, all part of the act, before taking both hers and Indigo's trunk to the unloading area. He returned

"Thank you" she squealed. "Let's get a boat!"

* * *

The platform was absolutely packed solid Rose Weasley discerned as she forced her way with Jayde through the crowds of people to Hagrid, who had taken his normal role of ferrying the students across the lake. He smiled at her "Hello Rosie! Did you have a good train ride?"

"Course! This is my friend Jayde West!" Rose said "Jayde – meet Hagrid. He is one of my parent's closest friends and a regular visitor to the big Weasley Christmas!"

Jayde looked slightly intimidated by the huge man in front of her, untouched by time bar for a few silver strands in his tangle of beard and hair, and some deep laughter lines around his eyes.

"No chance you are the 'special guest' I've been told is joining us" Hagrid said jovially, bringing his voice down to a more acceptable volume. At Jayde's fearful face he laughed "Don't worry about me girl. I only know because I'm the groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor. No-one else knows, at your father's request of course" His face showed how he disapproved of this point "Except for Headmistress McGonagall and myself. Your secret is safe with us"

Jayde smiled and they were ushered onto a boat as Rose waved goodbye. Jayde dipped her hand into the lake, relishing the feel of the water on her skin. Her hand glowed with an ethereal light, the opposite of what the sickly grey of her unglamoured form was. Rose looked down and smiled "It's beautiful" she mouthed, feeling slightly jealous but at that moment, as they smiled at each other, a strange bond was formed between the pair.

The moment was lost as a voice called "Rose Weasley – please put your trunk in the baggage area please" Rose went bright red as people laughed, hopping out of the boat. It took her two attempts to enlarge her trunk, but by the time she arrived back, her head held high, the laughter had stopped. Instead there was the constant chatter of people commenting on the difficulty of the spell.

She sat back down next to Jayde, watching the dark silhouette of the giant squid beneath them. She let her hand trail in the water and laughed as bubbles came up to burst on her hand "It's like he's saying hello" she said. Jayde smiled, wishing she could immerse herself in the water. Then she could hear what the squid was saying, let her dorsal fin out and reach the castle a lot quicker. But she was the one who had imprisoned herself in this manner.

"He probably is" Jayde said and looking at each other, they both burst out laughing

* * *

The night was clear, the moon clearly reflecting and illuminating the dark expanse of the lake. Jasmine kept her eyes on the peacefulness and tranquillity of it all, even as she listened to the conversation she was supposed to be engaging in with her brother. Scorpius obviously didn't approve of what she was planning with Indigo. Well, he wasn't blatant about it, just enough so that she, searching for secreted nuances of every hidden meaning, could pick up on his disapproval. "Don't manipulate her" his eyes said "She's too young, too naïve"

But she never listened to her brother. She screamed as she saw a dark outline in the water and Scorpius immediately bundled her into his arms, holding her until the shaking subsided. "It's just the squid Jaz, only the squid"

Of course she knew it was the squid, she wanted to yell. Of course she wasn't scared. God she hated this, having to cower, pretend to be something she wasn't so that Scorpius could get the glory. It would be worth it, she reminded herself. One day Scorpius would disappear, people would find out about him and at that point, she would go back to being the first Heiress. She could cope until then.

"I'm sorry – it just shocked me, that's all" she said after a while, making sure her voice trembled. She sent Indigo a shaky smile, making the girl shake her head, the slight movement causing her lilac ringlets to swing from side to side. The castle got closer, and closer and Jasmine actually began to feel a tingle of what could only be called… apprehension?

There was a bump as the boat reach dry land. They had arrived.

* * *

This is probably one of the longest chapters I 've written in ages. It was 4 words off of 4000 without my disclaimers. I did try to split it but I couldn't bear to - it just wouldn't work. My story is rebelling!

Please review. Please?


	4. Binomial Nomenclature

**Disclaimer: I have been attempting multiple charms and spells, but I am yet o persuade JK Rowling to give this story to me. I therefore cannot claim to own the potterverse in any way, shape or form. Or Muse for that matter.**

* * *

The corridor behind the main doors to the hall was massive. Despite the number of times Rose had seen it in her life, she still felt amazed by the sheer size of it all. She ran ahead to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was standing with the long register of names. He smiled at her "Hello Rosie – are you nervous"

"Petrified!" she replied "It all feels so different now I'm here as a student, not as a visitor!"

"It always does – not that you have anything to worry about. A Gryffindor through and through you are" Rose laughed, forcing the smile to remain on her face. It was like her family had just decided her life for her, though that wasn't really fair – it wasn't their fault. She was jogged from her thoughts by Kingsley continuing "Now get into the queue – I have to give my speech!"

He said it quite self righteously, making Rose laugh, as she walked towards the end of the queue. "He's another family friend. In fact, a lot of the teachers seem to be. He's another regular at the Weasley Christmas"

They stood together, as his deep voice instructed them into an alphabetical line and read out the rules, as well as the general idea about the House Cup. Then, he opened the door and led them through into a suddenly silent Great Hall.

The old, shabby looking hat was placed onto a stool at the front of the seated student body. The hat was a bit battered, and looked like nothing remarkable at a first, second, or even a third glance. It wasn't until the seam in the middle opened, making all the muggleborns jump, and it began to speak, did it seem special in any way

"At Hogwarts I was crafted  
Many years ago  
And through the ages I have seen  
Great wizards come and go

Whether gifted with a clever mind  
Courage, wit, or virtues  
You must stay wary of your talents  
And with which purpose they are used

While we glory in these days of peace  
We all still must remember  
The sacrifices that were made  
For our world to continue to prosper

History can repeat itself  
Without continued examination  
So while you're learning to use magic  
Keep justice as your foundation

The pointless deaths of war will haunt  
This hat for all existence  
For I have seen too many lives  
Be paid because of intolerance

Witch or wizard, muggle or squib  
House-elf or centaur  
The responsibility lies in all of us  
To treat the lot as brother

And as I have said many times  
And will say again  
I sometimes do regret sorting  
Separating those that might have been friends

Whether Gryffindor or Ravenclaw  
Slytherin or Hufflepuff  
You must stay united for what is right  
This I cannot stress enough

And though I'm just a sorting hat  
I have knowledge deep within  
But you've all listened enough tonight  
Let the sorting now begin!"

The cheering was deafening, though honestly, Rose couldn't see what all the fuss was about. She had read most of the hat's poems in a rare special edition of Hogwarts: A History published 4 years ago. They all seemed the same to her, though the recent years had mainly been about uniting as a common front and remembering the sacrifices of old. As if anyone actually did! But it was tradition she supposed. She listened absently as people were called.

"Andrews Lydia – GRYFFINDOR"

* * *

"Baobe Kaolin"

"- RAVENCLAW"

The hat proclaimed. Beatrice's eyes gleamed with excitement as her name was called.

"Black Beatrice" She walked quickly up, trying to look collected. A gravely voice appeared in her ear as the hat began to do its work

"Let's see, you have cunning and ambition, a very Slytherin mindset. Yet you have such intelligence, I'm not sure that the Slytherin environment would be good for you. You'd be swayed, tempted, you could never reach your potential. So it must be… RAVENCLAW!"

A great weight appeared in Beatrice's stomach. She had failed – what could she do in Ravenclaw? How could she live up to her mother's expectations without being in the right house? Her eyes narrowed as she watched Hydrus get sorted into Slytherin the moment the hat touched his head. He stuck out his tongue at her with a smug look in his eyes. Her eyes stung but she would not cry. She would not disappoint her mother twice in one day. She had already been disgraced.

* * *

Indigo's hair went white as she heard the person in front of her sorted (Lindal Malcom - HUFFLEPUFF) causing murmurs as she took to the stage of sorts. The hat went on her head, covering her eyes, in what she imagined to be a comic fashion considering the slight laughter from the hall. "You have a good heart, no idea truly where you want to go. I see loyalty and bravery. You have ambition. You want to do well, set a standard for your siblings? Yet – you can be malicious, very protective. I'll put you in… SLYTHERIN!"

Indigo pretty much jumped out of the seat and beamed at Jasmine who was standing in the queue with a huge smile plastered on her face. She gave a thumbs up to Indigo before turning back to the sorting.

The Malfoy heard MacDougal Orion being sorted into Hufflepuff, a first, she thought for a family of Ravenclaw. She walked calmly up, before even her name was called. She knew where she was going to be, so what was the point to this process. She was much more interested in people's reactions when certain people were sorted into different houses, like the way Scorpius frowned slightly when Hydrus was sorted into Slytherin – had they already had a disagreement?

She made her face contort into nervous excitement, but to no need as the hat didn't even need to touch her head before shouting "SLYTHERIN"

She smirked at Scorpius, jumping down to run to the serpent's table. She spotted Indigo and grabbing her hand, forced her to stand up and move to the group of pureblood girls that she had been trying to avoid on the train.

Scorpius' palms were sweaty, though his face showed no signs of it. He was petrified of getting into the wrong house. He had to be in Slytherin. There hadn't been a born Malfoy not in Slytherin for over 100 years. He couldn't be the first. The hat was placed on his head and he half hoped for a ridiculously quick sorting like Jasmine's. He wasn't however surprised when he heard a voice in his ear.

"Hmm – a difficult one, and a Malfoy to boot. You have so many different qualities. Definitely intelligent, and loyal, so loyal if only you had the chance to prove yourself. Obviously cunning, ambitious, but not for what your father wants. So what are you young Scorpius?

"Just shut up and sort" Scorpius thought loudly, aware that every second the hat remained on his head, he'd lose a little bit of respect from his supporters.

"Yes, but I know just where you belong. You have such brave heart, having seen so much yet still carrying on. That is a Gryffindor through and through."

"Don't you dare put me there" The thought was sharp, not quite being able to hide the fear that laced it.

"It's where you belong"

"I don't care. I can't be in Gryffindor. You don't understand – you're a hat for god's sake. Put me where I need to be or I'll have you burned"

If a hat could sigh, that was what this particular hat did "If you are sure. I can't put you where you need; I suppose you must go in SLYTHERIN!"

Scorpius struggled to keep the relief off his face as he ran to join the Slytherin table, sitting next to Jasmine. He ignored her light and teasing voice asking "What took you so long big brother" He knew she was serious.

"The stupid hat decided to list the reasons why I should be in Slytherin" he said imperiously "Waste of time if you ask me but I don't make the rules"

The people around him nodded, as though they actually believed his pathetic excuse. How they could call themselves Slytherins he did not know.

* * *

Rose Weasley did not expect much from the sorting. She expected the hat to be slipped onto her head and then for it to immediately transfer her to the Lion's den. So she couldn't have been more shocked when the hat actually stopped to think about her.

"You are very brave, loyal just like your father. But your mind is that of a Ravenclaw, one of the best minds I've seen since your mother. Perhaps better. But you have ambition, plans to make yourself the best. And definitely the cunning to pull it off" The hat's voice seemed to drop in her head, as though imparting a secret of great importance "And there are two people who are going to need you in that house, you cannot fail them. One is a lion in the snake's pit."

Rose blinked, confused as the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN"

No-one clapped, no-one spoke, no-one seemed to breathe. She could sort of see Jayde give her a worried look as her mouth fell open in shock. She continued to sit there until Kingsley tapped her on the shoulder, something she could have sworn was disappointment in his eyes. If this was what the usually stoic old Auror, whom Rose used to call grandfather, was like, Rose just couldn't look up at the other people at the high table. She averted her eyes to the floor and startled when the deep voice of 'grandfather Kingsley' appeared in her ear "Go on Rose"

She got up and walked up to the Slytherin table, feeling numb. This was what she wanted wasn't it? To be away from those stupid, loud-mouthed Gryffindors? She heard the outcries, the protests from her cousins, including perfect little Gryffindor Albus, saying that it must be a mistake, how good little Rosie Weasley couldn't be a sneaky Slytherin. She ducked her head, feeling a lump in her throat and a pooling of guilt in her stomach as sat down, by pure chance sitting next to Scorpius.

She sighed at her luck as he leaned across to her and whispered "Causing quite a stir aren't you?"

* * *

Jayde followed her new friend with her eyes. She may have only just met Rose Weasley but she understood what a controversy her sorting would be. Everyone had heard of her family, the illustrious Weasleys, the saviours of the Wizarding world. And their only daughter had been sorted into the house where the darkest resided.

She made up her mind as she walked over to the hat. It slipped over her head "I'm going in Slytherin" she told it, ignoring her fear and the brief exclaimation that her slightly odd features had caused across the hall. If Rose Weasley could put up with it, she could as well.

The hat seemed surprised "You do not belong there, you know you do not. You are intelligent, brave. You belong in its opposite. Yes you have the skills but the danger it would put…"

"You put Rose Weasley in despite the danger to herself. You will do as I say" Jayde interrupted, allowing anger to bubble under the surface of her thoughts.

"She is needed and was suited to it anyway"

"As am I. Now sort"

"I hope that you know what you are doing young Ceasg – SLYTHERIN!"

Jayde got up and walked morosely to the table, triumphant yet fearful in equal measures. The people already seated mainly disregarded her after looking her over once or twice. Would they still act that way if they found out? She saw the gleaming KoW badges on almost all of the students bar a small group up at the far end of the table, seemingly oestrosized from their house.

Oh to be a Slytherin she thought as she sat down next to Rose.

"I'm so sorry you ended up in here" Rose said as soon as Jayde had sat down beside her

"It' OK. I mean, you're here aren't you. If you can survive, I can!" Jayde tucked into the meal in front of her. Why wasn't there any fish? Surely her father had specifically said – oh – there it was. She reached for the large fillet of Bass, with hungry eyes.

"Are you sure? We could always get you resorted, I mean you don't have to stay here. I read in Hogwarts: A History there was a case of someone being moved out of their house. We could bring that case up again…"

"Do you really want to get rid of me that much?" Jayde said, wondering suddenly if she had completely misjudged the situation and really, Rose didn't want anything to do with her.

"No, no – of course that's not it. I just remember how scared you were on the train about them finding out"

"Don't talk about that here" Jayde hissed, "I thought you were meant to be intelligent. Anyone could hear us" She still smarted from Rose's apparent reluctance to be in the same house as her.

"Oh – don't worry. I cast a privacy charm – mufflatio. It causes a buzzing sound in people's ears when they try to listen into our conversation, hence the weird looks we've been getting" Jayde looked at her oddly and Rose put her hands up in mock innocence "Don't look at me like that! I practically lived with 5 boys all my life – I needed some time for myself"

"You can't use magic like that before you are 11. You aren't allowed a real wand"

"I had a training wand since I was little – I think I was 4 when Uncle Harry gave it to me. I learnt to remove the pitifully weak wards on it at the age of 6 from a book in mum's library and from Uncle Bill. And I was given a proper wand early at the age of 7 to protect myself, the same as you probably were." Rose said somberly

"Yes, but mine was given later than that when I was practising my glamour spells for Hogwarts"

"I'm just special then!" Rose said, trying to relieve the tension with a big grin. It seemed to work and Jayde finished off her Bass and looked around at the desserts that had arrived on the table whilst they had been talking. With the sudden lack of conversation, Rose felt the weight reappear. She looked over at the Gryffindor table, whose looks of outrage at the injustice of the school, and pity for her, were suddenly replaced with a look that was close to that of hate, upon seeing their cousin laughing and joking with the 'scum' of the school. Rose looked back at her food, feeling as though ice shards were piercing her heart.

"At least we'll share a dorm" Rose said, quickly restarting the conversation, and putting a smile on her face, taking Auntie Meddie's lessons to heart. Jayde's dropped just as suddenly as Rose's appeared.

"Ah, well, about that" Jayde started just as she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned to look at the dark skinned hand on her shoulder. The man it belonged to smiled down at her and said "Hello Miss West. I'm Professor Zabini – the Head of Slytherin house. If you'd like to come with me, I'll show you to your private room. You have requested one havn't you? Good, so if you've finished eating, I'd like to show you before the others have finished so we'll have a bit of privacy. Miss Weasly" He nodded at the ginger haired girl who was forcing a smile on her face to mask her disappointment. Jayde looked at her apologetically and stood up to follow her teacher.

She didn't look up or look back.

* * *

**I know this is earlu but I'm going to be away next Monday so will have no time to upload. A slightly irregular update. I did not write the sorting hat song (I don't actually think I'm capable). It is the winner of the Leaky Cauldren's song competition. Just follow the link below:**

/fun/contests/deathlyhallowssortinghatsong


	5. Thin Blood

Disclaimer: Still don't own the potterverse

* * *

Rose looked at her half eaten pudding and pushed it away, just as she heard a murmured voice next to her "How do you feel about being on the other side of the hall to your pea-brained cousins then?"

She looked at Scorpius, who was acting as though he hadn't just spoken to her. She sighed and said equally quietly "Thankful – I was dreading being a Gryffindor"

"And why would you, a Weasley, the epitome of Gryffindor bravery, loyalty and whatever else you idiotic lions are, not want to be one of Longbottom's cubs?" If Rose hadn't known better, she would have said he sounded amused.

"Why should I tell you anything?" He raised and eyebrow at her and she sighed "It'd be boring, so formulaic. No subtlety – all mouth, no cunning! Why do you think I'm good little Rosie – no-one catches me! Not saying I disregard Gryffindor qualities – I have most of them myself but I just put more stock in cunning and intelligence"

"Nicely said… Slytherin" He mouth curled up slightly, a ghost of a smirk

Rose ignored him and said "So why are you, a Malfoy, the epitome of Slytherin, whispering to me – I'm the daughter of one of those openly against your grandfather's campaign. I'm related to almost everyone who was in the war effort, and friends with the rest!"

"Keep your friends close, your enemies closer?" A genuine smile beginning to appear on his face, though unnoticable by anyone who wasn't looking for it.

"Does that make me an enemy then?" she asked, a smile beginning to form on her lips as well.

"Why don't you decide"

Rose began to reply when she saw a shadow behind her. She turned around to see a Slytherin Prefect "Your presence is required in the Common Room"

Rose nodded and stood up, following the fifth year silently. The girl took her down into the dungeon, to a portrait depicting a young woman with long blonde hair and a haughty expression. After saying the password – purity – the portrait opened to show the common room. It was a large room, lit by large windows. There were large green chairs by a lit fire. Silver and Green tapestries adorned the walls and there were corridors coming off this main room all around.

"There is a kitchen along this way that is always filled with snacks – if you haven't a house elf to do it" the Slytherin sneered "The games room down there, study room that way" She pointed as she explained all the rooms "Girls Dorms this way, boys this way"

They went down a flight of stairs, lit by candles. They came to a fork "Private rooms this way, dorms that way. The dorms are layed out odd years on right, even on left. Closest is younger years, furthest older years"

Rose went to go down the dorm side but was stopped by a hand on her arm "You are going this way – hence I've been sent to get you" They walked along the corridor until the Prefect stopped so suddenly, Rose almost bumped into her. "You are here"

Rose took a breath and went into the room. The first thing she did was gape. The second was cast some discrete detecting spells – being related to two aurors and a large part of the war effort made you very paranoid. The third was spot Jayde.

"I'm going to take the logical leap and say I'm rooming with you. I thought you were having a private dorm?"

"I was" Jayde replied "But I sort of told Professor Zabini that I wanted you in here with me"

"Please tell me you didn't siren him?" Rose asked, as though dreading the idea. Jayde blushed.

"Maybe"

"Well thank god you did! This is such a nice dorm!" She looked the large room. It was rectangular, with two desks along one wall, two smallish bookshelves along another, two four poster beds, a fireplace, two cushy chairs all with the silver and green décor she saw in the common room.

"Can I have the bookshelves?" Rose suddenly asked

"Yeah – sure. You can't need all of them?" Jayde said just as Rose removed the tapestries hanging above the aforementioned bookshelves and enlarged them to take the entire wall. Jayde's jaw dropped as Rose opened her trunk to reveal half of it was filled with reduced boxes, each with even more reduced books in. Rose looked up as she began to enlarge them and said "I had no idea where I was going to put them when I got here – it's not good for them to be spelled. I have some rare ones here that I just had to put into my trunk fullsized"

She spelled them to all fly onto the shelves, sorted by genre and then alphabetically by author. She enlarged the bookcase again when it became apparent that they wouldn't be big enough and added extra shelves by transfiguring some coathangers. She moved her wardrobe to the otherside to make room before allowing her spells to do the work for her. She turned to Jayde.

"You don't mind this… woah!" Jayde had removed her shirt and stretched out a very large fin on her back, the thin membrane shining as the light went through it. "That is beautiful – can I touch it?" She held up her hand to illustrate her want to stroke the delicate membrane.

"If you wish" Jayde replied, seeming surprised. No-one had really shown such a positive interest before. The fin was just over a foot long in the center of a column of scales that ran down the length of her spine. She shivered as she felt Rose's fingers hesitantly move over the skin. It was smooth.

Rose smiled in wonder "There are none recorded like you – none that I've read anyway. I've not heard of a half mer with a fin. What is it like? Can you feel it – does it help you swim? I should probably stop asking questions" The last bit was said in one breath and she breathed in deeply, not only to replenish oxygen but to calm herself down.

"It's not all that great" Jayde sniffled, allowing her glamour down. It was even more disturbing without her top on, the grey pallor continuing over all the visible skin, becoming more transluscent if anything as they reached her torso, allowing bluish veins to be visible. That was a more characteristic feature of half mer children.

Rose withdrew her hand "I never said it was" She winced as she realised that she had gone instinctively into her formal voice, the one Aunt Meddie had taught her. She consiously made herself relax "I am not your father. I cannot and will not judge you as I have been judged. You cannot control your blood" Her eyes went dark, remembering and she turned back to her bookcase so she could begin the protective spells on the wood.

"I'm sorry" Jayde said, smiling sheepishly at Rose's back.

Rose turned for a second "That's OK. Feel free to borrow any of the books by the way. I stole them from mother's library. I wonder how long it will take her to find out" She regarded her friends face "It's only about 500 books I stole. We literally have a Library. Uncle Harry donated them from Grimmauld Place to her as a birthday present – not like he wanted them." The red head looked insulted, as though her godfather had personally offended her by the action of not wanting to read on a regualr basis. "Plus she's added to them!"

Rose took her wand and outlined the bottom 3 shelves, murmuring spells under her breath. The square glowed blue, then red, then black before disappearing. She removed the remaining books, the majority ones she hadn't shrunk and placed them into the bookcase, stroking the covers tenderly. Some she whispered spells over, to placate them or awaken them. "Don't touch these books without my permission" Her voice was no nonsence, possessive and almost dangerous as she indicated the shelves that she had just placed extra protections on "They are dangerous – dark magic. Some will call to you. Ignore them – for your own good"

Jayde looked fearful "Ok" and Rose smiled, picking up one of the aforementioned dangerous books – one of the safer ones. She lay back on her bed and began to read, tracing the already memorised spells with her fingers, feeling the words and pictures calm her, make her feel safe. It sang to her blood. Why dark magic made her feel that way she did not know but it never seemed wrong. It just felt right. Silently she slipped the book back and went into bed, checking on the already asleep girl beside her. Her eyes closed, the backs of her eyelids dancing with potions and curses that could torture and pain a person for the rest of their lives.

* * *

The feast was nothing but a blur to Jasmine as she kept a smile on her face and walked slowly through the halls, with Indigo at her side. In fact, it was rather anti-climatic. She nodded to Scorpius as he dutifully appeared at her side before turning back to her new companion, who if observation proved anything, really needed to un-Gryffindor herself if she wanted to survive for two minutes in the snakes den.

Jasmine could see no sign of Rose Weasley, the new Dark Horse that the school population would now be on about. She had noticed her leaving with the Slytherin Prefect. A couple of children had been called away from the table along with the girl with the strange eyes – Jayde her name was. She knew they were the ones for the private rooms.

Still – Weasley. Everyone knew that they could barely afford anything – Rose's hammidown wardrobe told her that. In fact, if her source's were correct, the majority of her things were paid for by her godfather, whose huge vault was just 'wasting away' as Rose had put it one year when questioned. Obviously, she didn't know how far one Mr Potter's generosity spread when it came to his only goddaughter, but if the look of envy on James and Albus' face on one of the VD-Day celebration balls was anything to go by, it was a large amount.

She was pulled from her thoughts by someone tugging on her arm. She looked at Indigo and sharply pulled the appendage away, taking a step back. The girl look hurt, her hair turning a pale blue, but Jasmine kept up her steely look. She didn't like to be touched – too many deadly attacks could be performed on one's person by seemingly innocent contact alone. Indigo swallowed and began to speak when Jasmine realised how much they had fallen behind, so much so that the small huddle of first years had gone out of sight. Her face was grim – she would be having words with her followers tonight, especially the prefect.

Scorpius she knew, would be 'frantic' with worry, and immediately try to find her. Why make him suffer the inconvenience of finding her? She upped her speed and she motioned to Indigo "Come on – I know where we are heading. The VD – Day ball is always held in the Great Hall and father used to show me around in his spare time"

The girl hurried to keep up, her hair going from lilac, to a pink, that was almost too bright to look at. Jasmine almost smiled at the ridiculousness of it all, but caught herself just in time. Or at least she thought she did. "Why are you hiding yourself?"

If she hadn't undergone years of extensive training, Jasmine would have shown surprise at the question posed by the metamorphmagus. Fortunately, her father had given her lessons personally, and her masks were now so thick they might as well not be masks at all. To fail Draco Malfoy was not to be undertaken lightly "Of course I'm not – I just want to catch up with them"

"But we are only a corridor or so away – I heard them" Indigo said, surprising Jasmine with her observational skills.

"I know – but we'll miss the password if we don't hurry. Don't worry about it you little worrywart" she said, feigning a happy smile and hitting her friend lightly on the arm. Something told her that Indigo was not convinced. She dropped the façade of joy. "You are a Slytherin now. First rule of Slytherin – don't let anyone get close to you. We are all self serving and we all will betray eachother in the end. Even me – no – especially me"

Indigo looked as though she were contemplating something as she walked up to the painting that hid the corridor, repeating the password she had just heard the prefect recite. Jasmine was suddenly worried that she had pushed it to far and that she had now scared her Gryffindorish target away from her for good. The portrait swung open and just before she entered the Common Room, to be entranced once more the magical décor of her new home, she said "I don't believe you. You are my friend"

Even as Jasmine struggled to not look non-plussed as she enter the common room, Indigo had left to join the tour that was being held by the fifth year that had taken Jayde earlier. Even as Scorpius grabbed hold of her and hugged her in a very unSlytherin show of affection, her mind was elsewhere. Indigo was definitely not a normal Slytherin.

* * *

Jayde didn't precisely know why she got up and out of bed. Rose had fallen asleep, so she tiptoed past the girl and out into the corridor, pinointing exactly when her dorm mate woke up from the change in breathing. Smiling, she walked down the stairs and into the common room to have a proper look around.

Surprisingly, it was empty so she went quickly to the little kitchen and found herself some food. It seemed mainly healthy stuff in the cool room, with no sign of anything muggle related or less that extravigant. She wondered whose parent had funded this for she was certain that no other House had a kitchen in their Common Room. Or a games room for that matter.

She made herself a tuna sandwhich, having missed the last part of the feast, and made her way back to the main room. She froze – it was no longer empty. A boy sat on one of the chairs, his feet on the table and his head leaning against the backrest, staring at the ceiling. His hand was on his wand. He looked up when she entered the room and his eyes widened as he looked into hers. Panicked, she looked away.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice harsh. He appeared to be scruitinising her, like a specimen under the muggle microscopes her father insisted were much better than the wizarding equivilent. She bristled. She had been looked at in that manner far more times than she could cont and she hated it. She proceeded to ignore his question and walk back to her dorm.

He was up and out of the chair before she could even comprehend the change, pinning her to the wall with his body, his wand at her throat. She dropped her plate, the smash of broken crockery echoing through the room. "Do not ignore me" his voice was now a harsh whisper, full of unspoken threats "Who are you?"

Jayde resisted the urge to hiss at him "It is none of your concern" She spat him. He banged her head against the wall in answer, making her face contort with pain. She reached for her knowledge of martial arts and aimed a low kick at his shins whilst trying to push him off of her. As though anticipating the move, he blocked it, a smug, very frightening smile on his face "A fighter hey? How long have you been studying?"

He didn't want an answer, that was obvious, especially as his wand dug hard into her throat when she opened her mouth to reply. She lay her head back against the wall, breathing heavily as the adrenaline ran through her. With a grunt, she made one last desperate attempt for freedom, thwarted easily by her captor. He looked at her with murderous eyes but a blank face. This was worse than anything else she had seen so far. She closed her eyes expecting the worse, when he heard another voice.

"Let go of her or I swear you will live to regret it" Jayde opened her eyes to see Rose with her wand against the boy's throat. But this wasn't the Rose she had befriended earlier, this was a dark creature with black eyes and a half crazed glint that sent a shiver down Jayde's spine. The boy merely laughed, a throaty sound that matched Rose's for power. Looking at them both, it made Jayde wonder who she had allowed herself to be in proximity to by choosing this house. The pressure was removed from her neck and she saw him hold his hands in the air mockingly. Rose smirked, and the boy mirrored the expression before walking down the corridor without another word.

The dark expression left Rose as though it had never existed in the first place as she shot Jayde a smile "Got your eye on someone already then?"

Jayde groaned.

* * *

**I don't have much time to write this note at the end! It seems like ages since I've uploaded a chapter - though it is actually on the Monday I've promised this time! I was in a show all last week and therefore didn't have much access to computers (there's no signal in the dressing rooms - I've checked!)**

**Please, please review - I know you people are out there reading! Just drop me a line!**


	6. Fresh Waters

**Disclaimer: I am in process of attempting to kidnap JK but as of yet have not found her to make her sign the potterverse over. Until then... I own zilch.**

* * *

Rose yawned and got out of bed, tapping her wand against the side of the bed to stop the horrid ringing noise it made. Why had she set the alarm spell for 6:00am when breakfast wasn't served until 7:30? Sighing she opened her copy of the mauraders map. She had her own copy after using a detecting spell to make a list of the enchantments used on the original, and then an almost legal copying spell to replicate them onto a blank piece of parchment. She added her own, considerably darker spells and voila – her own copy of her cousin's favourite possession. It had been a huge test of her abilities and she had been stuck in bed for almost 2 months afterwards for almost burning out her magical core. But it grew back like it always did – stronger than ever and she had her own version of the Maurauders Map, with only one allegiance, unlike the previous map with four.

She had always done that – used her magic until it almost drained her dry, then allowing it to grow back. That was why she was so strong – she had forced her body to become that way. That, and she had a big set of tutors. Uncle Harry and her father put her through basic auror training after the second attack to her person at the age of 7. Her mother, before all the trouble at work, took her thorugh the basic 7 year curriculum of Hogwarts, which Rose perfected in her own time, as well as teaching her daughter Advanced Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and research techniques. When she had mastered that, Uncle George taught her the Advanced Potions and Spellwork needed to perfect his joke shop items, as well as taking her through Spell Creation techniques. Uncle Bill taught her NEWT standard Care of Magical Creatures, focussing mainly on dragons and Uncle Neville taught her Advanced Herbology.

Auntie Meddie taught her about the pureblood way of life, their family trees, their politics and ever changing social structures – all the things that she herself was taught along with her sisters when she was a young girl. It was this that Rose learnt first, being babysitted by the woman most weekends though Teddy found the whole idea of extra classes an ordeal. Auntie Gabrielle taught advanced charms and french. She learnt basic Latin and Ancient Greek whilst visiting the Delacours in Paris. Auntie Angelina taught her quidditch, though Rose hated the sport. Grandma Weasley taught her housework and cooking spells. Grandmother Granger taught her muggle 'stuff', allowing her to be ready to take her GCSEs when the time came. She was also researching in her own free time dark spells and potions that her family refused to let her near.

It may seem that Rose Weasley was an impossible individual but it ws simply that she wanted to learn. Instead of playing with the other children, who bullied her, a young Rose would steal into the Library and read any and all books that were in reach, quizzing her mother with endless questions until the despairing parent started set lesson times after school, bringing in different 'tutors' to try and feed her offspring's insatiable thirst for knowledge. And from the time Rose Weasley arrived home at night, until she went to bed, she just soaked it up.

Rose decided that she should probably keep up the morning training routine her father had insisted on – a short jog, followed by stretches, followed by dueling and martial arts practise. Both Uncle Harry and Dad had drilled it into her when she practised with them, that constantly pushing her body was the only way to get better. She had to be the best – it was the only way to protect herself.

She walked quietly to the door, putting a silent 'Confrigo' around herself, a strong shielding charm. She winced when the door creaked beofore sneaking out, wondering whether the Room of Requirement would allow the dangerous spells that she was planning.

* * *

Jayde opened one eye as she felt a vibration. Someone was moving, closeby. Blearily she sat up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her pupils had enlarged so much she could see no colour left in them at all. Sighing, she reapplied her glamour before checking on Rose. She wasn't there – perhaps it was her who had caused the disturbance.

She quickly got dressed and snuck out of the room, flitting through the castle like a ghost. She touched the walls, and felt the thrum of magic. She drowned out everything – the movement of the houselves, the teachers, the familiars and focussed on the vibrations she felt that morning. For once in her life she was praising the mer blood she hated so much, as she located her wandering dormmate. She went up to the ground floor and followed a mazelike pattern of corridors, keeping her hand on the wall to feel the vibrations get stronger or weaker. The hallways slowly became darker, dustier – as though people hadn't trespassed for many years. It opened out into a room and she became almost certain that they weren't meant to be there.

She noticed something hiding in the darkness and quickly identified it as Rose. What was she doing down here? She saw the girl tap her wand against the wall, a specific pattern of bricks and whispered something unidentifiable. There was a rumble, and the stone seemed to move away to reveal a long corridor. It was pitch black. Rose looked at a piece of parchment, and smiled slightly. She looked pleased with herself. She turned around fully and Jayde slipped back behind the wall, to hide herself from her friend.

"You can come out now Jayde. I know you're there" Rose's voice echoed through the corridors and Jayde winced. She crept around the corner, her shoulders hunched as though she had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry?" she tried, looking up at Rose's face as much as she could whilst trying to keep her head down in apology.

Rose ignored her, prefering to conjure a ball of light and send it into the corridor. It seemed endless. Rose held her wand up after examining the passage, leaving Jayde to stew in a bundle of nervous tension. She mumbled something and a thin sheet of fire appeared out of her wand and traversed down the corridor until out of view. All the torches were now lit, a long line of patchy, flickering light, although nothing else seemed burned. She gaped – that was some magic. Rose began to walk "Are you coming?"

Jayde smiled, relieved at appearing to be forgiven. She followed Rose, shivering as the cold air of the passage hit her, icy even with the flames. Rose didn't seem affected at all as she walked confidently past hideous gargoyles, stone snakes winding their way up of pillars and tablets depicting rather, untasteful scenes. Jayde looked dead ahead, almost beginning to regret following her friend. They passed several wooden doors, all appearing to be locked. Finally, Jayde summoned the courage to ask "Where is this place?"

"It's a secret passage, built by Abraxas Slytherin, Salazar's eldest son, as a means to quickly leave the castle" Rose replied, as she looked around with interest.

"Why did he need a way out of the castle? And what are all these doors for?" Jayde asked, realising she had walked ahead of her friend, who had stopped to stare at a motheaten tapestry.

"He was courting a muggle born, Matilda Graine" She said casually "It was someone his father would never approve of. He needed a way to sneak out and see her, so he built this passage so he could move in and out of the grounds without detection and apparate to her. When she got pregnant, he decided to marry her, despite of what Salazar would say. His father, upon discovering his son's betrayal, became very angry and tried to kill her and their unborn child. Abraxus hid Matilda in the passage, making more rooms to fit her needs. He made a bedroom, a kitchen, a library, nursery – anything she wanted"

"And that's what is behind the doors – a house of sorts?" Jayde said curiously. Rose nodded her affirmative. It became clear that she wasn't going to say anything else of her own accord so Jayde continued "What happened to them – Matilda and Abraxus?"

"Salazar wouldn't kill his eldest son, his hier. He had several other sons, but they hadn't inherited his gifts – like the one to talk to snakes. So the only other option in his mind was to continually hunt them down, so Abraxus could remarry, have a son and then be disowned as he should have been, leaving a grandson that could be raised by either Salazar himself or another family member. So, with that danger, Matilda continued to live in her temporary home and gave birth to twins – one boy and one girl. The hunt continued and it seemed as though she would never leave and that her and her husband's children would live forever in the darkness.

"She was unhappy – she missed the outside world, her friends and family and she wanted the twins to live in the sunlight. Abraxus wouldn't have it – he loved her too much to let her risk her life by leaving. So he locked the passageway – made it so no-one could open it but someone directly of his line, someone of his blood. He emptied the place Even the servants he employed to keep her company were dismissed as he feared they would pollute her mind with dreams of the outside world – make her yearn it even more. He made it that only he would see her, not understanding that it was her own desire to leave, not something that she had garnered from others. Within a few months, she had died. She killed herself to escape her prison and her lonliness, leaving him with a broken heart and two children"

"What happened to them?" Jayde asked, her voice downcast at the thought of the young woman whose life was wasted and the two children left motherless because of it. At somepoint during the tale, they had stopped walking and Rose turned to face her, looking strangely sinister with her face contorted by the half light of the flames.

"He took the the twins, barely more than a few years old, to their muggle grandparents to be brought up. He gave them money, changed the records to turn them from simple farmers, to a Lord and Lady. When the time came, an 11 year old girl called Helena Graine, a muggle born, went to Hogwarts and got sorted into Gryffindor. Though Abraxus' watched, he never interfered with his child's life until the very last year, when he told her about the passage, though not of her Lineage. She swore never to tell anyone about it bar her beloved twin brother who was a squib. Abraxus Slytherin, heir of Salazar Slytherin, died a few weeks later, to join his beloved in whatever lay beyond. He was disowned on his deathbed, with no family around him and was erased from history. His descendants were forgotten"

Rose looked at the floor, contemplating. It was silent except from their light breathing. "That can't be it though" Jayde said eventually.

Rose smiled grimly "This is life – it can't all be a happy ending. If that were the case, the War would have finished with the downfall of Voldemort and Father's job would be a piece of cake"

"I know that – we all know that" Jayde sighed, unable to express what she wanted to say, what she wanted to scream at this girl who acted so cynical yet was laughing and joking with her only last night. Rose Weasley had a number of layers to unlock so it seemed, and was not one to throw her trust at everyone she spoke to. "The hat was right you know" she said eventually, surprising even herself "You do belong in Slytherin"

Rose stiffened. She'd only known this girl a day, though it felt like longer. She couldn't remember the last time she had acted so informally around someone she had just met. You never knew who could be an enemy. She remembered that discussion when she first had Auror lesson.

She had been fighting her father for the past hour. She was getting better and could hold her own against him for 5 minutes, which was an acheivement despite the ridiculously low level spells he was using againt her. Rose was beginning to get upset because she hadn't beaten her father for weeks, not since she managed to bash him over the head with a levitated baseball bat and knocked him out cold for an hour.

And then Mum had come down to the basement, which had been turned into a gym. Hugo had clung to her leg and looked anxiously up at her as she leant against the doorway with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her hair was glossy and curled beautifully down her back and her eyes glistened. She was wearing a new top and some skinny jeans. She looked absoutely stunning and apparently Dad thought so too. He turned to look at her, completely distracted and Rose could get the winning kick in.

Her mother just looked very smug, before picking Hugo up and walking back upstairs. Father looked annoyed and tried to glare at his wife but failed miserably. He turned to Rose and said "Don't trust anyone Rosie, you don't know who will turn on you!"

It was said as a joke and she could hear her mother laughing at the top of the stairs, but Rose still remembered those words. That was just before the work crisis and it was the last time she had ever seen her mother look so carefree. It was only a few months before the hollow eyes and almost gaunt features set in and their family life would be all but ripped apart. It took so little time to ruin it all

"Rose – are you OK? I'm sorry I upset you or something. Please look at me"

Rose was forced out of her reverie and realised her features were set into a deep frown. "I'm sorry – I just got a bit caught up" She took her wand and cast a Tempus charm. "It's only 6:30. I thought it would be later than that" They continued walking down the corridor "I still have time to go through my exercises. Care to join me?"

"Are you going outside?" As Rose nodded, Jayde decided what she was going to do, with the same sort of determination that made her force the hat to her will. She wouldn't be able to get Rose to trust her unless she showed a higher degree of trust first. "I have something to show you"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Rose called to Jayde, who was traipsing along in front of her. The ground was getting marshier and harder to walk on.

"To the lake" Jayde called back "This was the way they instructed me to go when father came down to negotiate my arrival. It's out of the way of prying eyes"

"Well" Rose began, being cut off by her left leg suddenly sinking almost a foot into the mud "You could have warned me beforehand"

Jayde flashed her a roguish grin before they continued. The ground suddenly became harder and Rose became aware that she was walking on a wooden trellis that stretched out about 100 metres into the lake. Jayde stripped herself of clothes, her dorsal fin released to its full size and she somersaulted off of the wood and headfirst into the lake.

"Jayde!" Rose yelled and ran along after her friend. She knelt at the edge of the pier, looking anxiously into the water. She rippled the surface with her fingertips when suddenly she felt something. The next thing she knew, she was pulled headfirst into the lake, fully clothed. She came up coughing and spluttering, her wand at the ready, to see Jayde laughing only a few metres away from her.

"Why you little" Rose began and lunged for her friend, who just swam almost 6 feet away within a second. Jayde was definitely in her element. "Why did you do that?"

"Your face" Jayde began, barely able to keep herself above the surface as she continued to break down into fits of giggles.

"It's not funny" Rose said, though she herself could barely repress a smile of her own. She swam to the trellis and began to push herself up. Jayde quickly swam over to give her a hand. Rose looked over her now sopping wet clothes and sighed, magically drying them. She cast a warming charm over herself and looked down at Jayde. "What was it you wanted to show me – apart from you brilliant ability to pull unwilling victims into freezing cold, dirty water?"

"It isn't dirty" Jayde began to protest, as she began to swim towards the trellis again. She concentrated on her human respiratory system – breathe in, breath out – and pushed herself up to join Rose. The ginger haired girl gaped. The line of scales that surrounded Jayde's dorsal fin had stretched and spread to cover all of her stomach all the way up to the small buds of her developing breasts. The skin still showing was grey, glowing silver where the water hit it, and all of Jayde's normal features had exaggerated, the nose flattening and the pupils of her eyes dilating to an alarming degree. A thin membrane stretched between her arms and her hips, the joins surrounded by small clusters of scales. But the most noticeable change was the girl's legs, which had fused and suddenly become a long, green brown tail, making her almost 10 feet long. Her teeth were sharp and there were gills on her neck, looking rather grotesque as they flapped helplessly for water. Rose was speechless.

"That's not supposed to happen" she eventually said "You just have mer qualities, not the abilities to turn into one" Jayde looked hurt, but Rose didn't seem to notice "Wow – this is amazing, incredible. Have you always been this way? Do you use your gills?"

"You said you wouldn't treat me like a specimen" Jayde said sharply. Her voice no longer sounded like an 11 year old. It was richer and had the hypnotic quality that allowed the mer to lure sailors to their watery graves "I've trusted you to see this. Don't say I've put my trust in the wrong person again"

Rose fell silent, and looked down, ashamed if not slightly dazed. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean it like that. You're so beautiful and it was just so unexpected. That isn't natural though"

Jayde again looked down "No – it isn't. But I can't tell you about it today. Perhaps in the future" Rose looked ready to protest but Jayde interrupted. She was a lot more confident in this form. "You can have your secret and I can have mine. We'll share them when we are ready – I'd just like you to take it into account that I have given you a great hold over me. I'd like to be shown a least some measure of trust in return"

Rose nodded, mollified. She understood the display of trust that Jayde had given her "I'm sorry – I shouldn't have…"

"It's OK" Jayde grinned "Race you around the lake" She set off, leaving Rose to stumble along after her, shouting how unfair it was and how she deserved a head start.

* * *

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	7. Simmering and Boiling

**Disclaimer: I have been hunting for JK Rowling, but I am yet to find her. **

* * *

Hydrus ran down the corridor as he saw the sweeping of the dark cloak, customary of his sister. She was on her own at last. He ran up after her, using the silencing techniques she had taught him to sneak up right behind her and grab her around the waist. She jumped and spun on her heel, with murder in her eyes. She grabbed her attacker by their throat and pinned him to the wall.

Hydrus just grinned, expecting the move. He waited for a moment, waiting for the praise she always gave him for managing to catch her unawares but none came. She suddenly released him and he fell to the floor, coughing and rubbing his neck. When he looked up, she had already made it halfway down the corridor.

"Beatrice – wait" he implored her, running after her with the expression of a wounded puppy. She turned and once more had him against the wall, this time by her wand rather than her hand.

"You will leave me be. Surely you don't expect me to talk to you after that Slytherin attack back there?" Hydrus smiled a second at the subtle praise she had given him, but then backtracked. Her eyes were not filled with the shining pride, muted but not hidden by her hundreds of masks she wore, but were filled with resentment, something that could be mistaken for hatred. Hydrus stumbled over his words "Speak up boy!" She shouted at him and his eyes filled with tears beyond his control.

"What is it?" he finally managed, his blurry eyes begging with her to tell him "What had happened"

She ignored his words and his expression, her eyes remaining hard. "You do not deserve it" She said mysteriously "Stay away from me"

With that she dropped him back to the floor and left him to collect his thoughts, his face full of hurt and confusion, like a small puppy, kicked for no reason. He stood and collected himself. He was a Slytherin, he had to be emotionless. Just like she had told him. He sighed, filled once again with hurt. She would come around – she had to. She was his sister, his carer and his life.

* * *

The first class that Rose and Jayde had was Charms so they quickly made their way up to the room, almost in silence. Rose had made it three times around the lake and though it wasn't as far as she usually could make, the unpredictable terrain made her think that she had certainly made up for it. She didn't have time to do anything else that morning – she could do it tomorrow perhaps. She'd make a timetable of rotation for what she had to do in the mornings or something.

She sat down without really looking, something she really should have learnt not to do because she ended up next to Scorpius again. "I swear you have a compulsion charm on you or something because I always find myself next to you"

"Just my good looks and natural charisma" He replied, smirking slightly

She was going to retort when she felt Jayde sit down beside her. There was a sort of reluctance in the way she sat and it made her turn to find the reason. She saw Hydrus and bristled. "I can switch with you if you want"

Jayde looked up at the guy next to her, a mistake as her hair parted to show her eyes, brighter since her swim in the lake. He just looked at her and appeared to be taking in her appearance. She gulped, her heart hammering and went to agree to Rose's suggestion when the door opened.

Professor Delacour glided into the room, in a way that made almost all the males in the room stop talking and stare. The teacher didn't even look fazed at the first year's reaction, for now half the females were staring in awe, the others jealously. Rose just smiled and gave a little half wave which the Professor returned with a big smile. Rose turned to Jayde.

"That's Auntie Gabrielle. She's my father's brother's wife's sister. She comes down quite a lot since she moved fromFrance"

Jayde grinned "Weasley Christmas?"

Rose nodded before turning to the blackboard where Auntie Gabrielle was writing out the basics of charms. Finding the task totally pointless, she charmed her quill to write a perfect transcript of the lesson. She could go through it and cross out irrelevant information and add her own notes later. Perhaps she could bind it into an easy revision book or something and make a fortune during exam time.

It was about 5 minutes later when she remembered who was on her left.

"Interesting" Scorpius said, watching the feather in avid interest.

"Thank you" She replied gruffly and proceeded to touch the quill with her wand to cast Uncle George's patented invisibility spell on it.

"Did I ask for you to talk Mr Malfoy? Miss Weasley? I didn't think so – 10 points from Slytherin. And why is your wand out Miss Weasley" Blushing, she put her wand into her wrist holster. Professor Delacour nodded before adding "See me after class"

Rose turned her attentions back to the blank piece of parchment in front of her and began to draw a basic timetable of her time after and before lessons. She was certain that homework wouldn't be much of a problem if the questions her mother had assigned her were anything to go by. She concentrated on her timetable, putting in exercise, research and duelling times. It was all interchangeable of course and she wasn't going to stick to it fully. Checking the teacher was definitely facing the other direction, she flicked her wand out of its holster again and tapped the parchment, making each subject a different colour.

She turned to Jayde who was shifting anxiously even as she made glances towards her parchment. It was still blank. "You should start making notes" Rose whispered and Jayde nodded, still making glances at Hydrus. The boy sneered at her, tapping the end of his wand nonchalently on the edge of the table.

Jayde had never felt more uncomfortable in her life – this boy was everything she had been told to avoid since her first conscious thought and her entire body protested at being forced to sit so near to him. He smirked at her and she cringed away, feeling the first vestiges of panic. Her mouth felt dry and she coughed. _Calm down – you are in a lesson. There is nothing that he could possibly do. You are just an ordinary witch to him – even pureblood as far as your father is concerned_

Her skin felt dry and she just wanted to dunk herself into water. She coughed again and the teacher turned around in concern. She shook her head, feeling herself getting tired, her tongue filling her mouth. Maybe she shouldn't have gone for a swim that morning.

Rose transfigured a piece of parchment into a silver goblet and filled it with water, her mind deciding that a distressed mermaid and liquid was probably a good combination. Jayde nodded gratefully and took a long gulp, feeling the water refresh her. She should have known to keep some handy. Then again, she'd never really had that happen before. She'd never felt that starved of water in her life. Her father once made a trip to theSaharaDesertand she still didn't feel so dehydrated.

"I could make it refillable" Rose whispered "And I'll make it non-spill. Shouldn't this have been provided for you?"

"This hasn't happened before"

"Miss Weasley – I will not ask you again. You will not talk during my classes. Now – complete the exercise on the board. In silence. 10 points from Slytherin"

Rose winced and ducked her head to shield herself from the looks of her classmates. Scorpius scowled at her and Rose just counted the seconds until the end of class.

* * *

The bell rang after what seemed like hours. Rose undid the charm on her quill and collected her invisible notes, moving towards the front. Jayde gave her a sympathetic look before disappearing out of the door. The moment the last person had gone, she jumped up and sat on the teacher's desk.

"Bonjour Auntie Gabrielle"

"Bonjour ma petite fille" the teacher replied in her lilting French accent, now a lot more prominent than in class. She removed her teaching robes to reveal a very casual muggle outfit of a pale blue cashmere jumper and skinny jeans. "Et how are you et ton parents?"

"They're fine! They've been asking after you on behalf of Grandma Weasley. I've been told to ask if you are coming to Christmas – oh and to ask you parents along as well" Rose's face had lit up

"I've already told your grandmere. I'm coming mais mes parents vont reste a la maison"

Rose's face fell "Oh that's a shame – I like your parents!"

"I swear our congregation is getting bigger" Gabrielle continued, thoughtfully, as though Rose hadn't said anything "Victoire is bringing her boyfriend"

"They broke up" Rose interrupted "James caught her with Teddy before the train left"

Gabrielle paused for a moment. "How very sad" She said after a moment, fighting a smile "And I just loved that boy so much!"

"Of course you did!" Rose laughed "I think they were trying to be discreet about it – the idiots. I mean, we all knew it was coming. Honestly – how long could two people miss the mushy looks, the kindness, the… just the complete obviousness of it all? How on earth it took them so long to realise they liked each other is completely beyond my comprehension"

Her aunt paused, her lips tilting up "And you would have nothing to do with their mysterious getting together would you ma petite fille?"

"We're moving to the ballroom in Grimmauld place this year, so we should have a lot more room than we did last year" Rose said, completely ignoring the part Veela's question.

"That's good – especially as maman et papa are coming"

"But you said…" Gabrielle just smiled at her "I don't love you anymore. You are disowned from the family"

"Of course I am Rosie. But this isn't why I made you stay after class" The conversation became serious all of a sudden "Your silence in class has led me to believe you are going to hide your abilities. Your quill told me differently"

"I'm planning on it - hiding it I mean. The quill was a last minute thought – I didn't prepare that as I should. I'm going to say that it was a present rather than any skill of my own. I don't see any point in allowing them to know how gifted I am"

"And modest to!" Gabrielle laughed, a chiming sound, almost as mesmerising as Jayde's siren call

"Of course! Is that all you wanted?" Rose asked, tilting her head slightly in question. The woman nodded and waved slightly as the young girl got up to go. "Au revoir Auntie Gabrielle" She paused a second "Auntie Gabrielle – you don't care that I'm in Slytherin do you?"

"Of course not ma cherie – why would I? You are no different than the little girl I helped teach charms at the age of 6" Gabrielle really had no idea what the fuss was about houses – Beaubatons did not have half as much emphasis on them, and unlike her sister, she played no role in the war so didn't comprehend the connotations attached to the house..

Rose beamed at the part Veela and turned to leave. She had almost left the room when Gabrielle turned and said "Your homework is to continue the research project I gave you over the holidays, ready for the half term" Rose nodded in relief at not having to do the ridiculous task set for the other first years, almost walking straight past Jayde. She stopped and turned on one heel "What are you doing here?"

Jayde winced slightly before saying "Waiting for you of course!"

"Whatever for? You could have been late for lessons!" Rose seemed honestly confused as to why Jayde would do that for her. Jayde suddenly felt sympathy for the girl. She had been brought up surrounded by people yet seemed as though she were totally alone.

"You're my friend and I thought you'd like company on your walk down to potions. You know, for a girl who initiated this friendship, you seem slightly clueless about it"

Rose looked down, as though deliberating. She looked up as they began to walk "I didn't have friends at my school. I joined late so everyone already had a social circle and I was afraid that they would hurt me like last time. I'd rather just read my books. I had people who I could invite for parties so mum and dad wouldn't worry about me but I just spent my time in the corner of the playground with a glamoured paper or staring at feathers or leaves trying to perform wandless magic. In fact, more often than not I was teased rather than played with"

Jayde looked down at her feet. Even with her father she'd had friends. She'd walk to the local park and meet a little girl Sophia every Saturday morning. The child would run over and they'd play on the swings. She was never allowed back to her house or to invite her over but it was like clockwork right up to the point of her joining Hogwarts.

"Well – I waited for you anyhow. We have to walk quickly though. We are almost late for potions"

"Let's go then" Rose replied, putting her satchel over her shoulder and beginning to run, dragging her friend by the hand, trying hard not to pay attention to the conversations that seemed to miraculously die whenever she was within the eye sight of the participants. It was hard, and she took to keeping her eyes down, to avoid the stares. She stopped at a seemingly blank wall. Rose jumped up and grabbed hold of a candle holder that was bolted to the stone, as though it were a set of monkey bars in a kid's playground. The entire corridor seemed to ripple. She jumped down and once again grabbed Jayde's hand. She stepped towards to very solid looking barrier and the part mer made a sound of protest. Rose said "Sub level Dungeons 1, Classroom 0"

Jayde blinked disorientated as her eyes squinted in the half light. The people walking past her didn't even seem to realise that they had just walked through a wall and into the hallway. "James found that about 3 years ago when we were here for the annual V-Day ball. We always got bored at those events so us Weasley Kids would go exploring together and that time we ended up getting lost. James swung of the candle holder as Teddy and Victoire argued about what to do and disappeared. We all followed. Since then we've discovered multiple areas that do the same thing. It was our mission during the holidays"

"Two things - Weasley Kids and holidays?"

"We spent a lot of holidays here. We know lots of the professors and they looked after us over the break" She tried not to grimace as she thought over how often she and Hugo had spent in the castle. They were always welcome around Grandma Weasley's house but Hermione liked to know that her family were completely safe, plus she felt guilty for always sending them around the kindly old woman's house. It was another arguing point between her father and mother. She shook her head "And us kids? - That's all of our generation related to the Weasleys. There's me and Hugo by Hermione and Ron Weasley. James, Albus and Lily by Harry and Ginny Potter. Victoire, Domanique and Louis by Bill and Fleur Weasley. Fred and Roxanne by George and Angelina Weasley. Molly and Lucy by Percy and Audrey Weasley. Oh and though they aren't technically Weasleys Lorcan and Lysander by Luna and Rolf Scamander and Teddy Lupin. And we're all in Hogwarts, at least one in each year. Bar Teddy of course! He's studying to be an auror now. Oh and Hugo, Louis and Lily aren't at Hogwarts yet!"

"That's a lot of Weasleys!"

"Yep"

Jayde tried not to look blown away at the sheer number of family members she had just been bombarded with. How could Rose Weasley seem so alone with so many people around her? And the Weasleys were such a close family! She realised that they had stopped walking and were blocking up the hall.

Rose turned to her companion "How did you not know of this? We were covered by the Daily Prophet and the public know more about our private life than I do myself!" Well, some of their private life anyway.

Jayde looked slightly embarrassed. "We didn't have any newspapers in my house" Rose gave her a disbelieving look "Father didn't like me knowing about the outside" Her tone said that was the end of that subject.

Rose shrugged, appearing casual though she was dying to know more. They entered the classroom together, and went to take seats. Rose noted that this class would be taken with the Gryffindors and she went to take a seat next to her cousin. Upon spotting her, he sent a pointed glare that made her backtrack several places. The school satchel that was soon placed on the seat next to him made his message quite clear and Rose moved to a row of spare seats at the front.

She sat down heavily onto one of stools in the potions lab, regretting it instantly as a sharp pain shot up her coccyx. Those stools were hard – understandable as you always had to be on full alert when brewing, especially for the more dangerous potions the Seventh year's made. She took out her potions book, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, to distract herself from the hurt that her cousin and close friend caused her. The book had been brought for her when she was about 4 and she had annotated it so much, she was surprised any of the original text was still legible.

She had begun annotating as Uncle Harry told her a bedtime story about a book a teenaged potion genius had written. And she was still making improvements, mainly to her own versions now though. She took out a quill and some black ink and scribbled out Jabbernoll Feathers from a Wit Sharpening potion as she had been meaning to do for ages, cursing loudly at the stupid book. How it had clung so stubbornly to the school list she had no idea. She felt a sharp kick to her shin and turned to yell at the half mer responsible when she felt someone behind her. Her wand was in her hand when she looked up fearfully at the Professor, having not realised the class had fallen silent around 5 minutes before.

"And why Miss Weasley have you felt the need to abuse the poor book in your hand? Do you really believe yourself better than these potioneers that revolutionised our history?"

Rose looked down for a moment, feeling her eyes stinging as she heard the giggles from the table behind her. Albus' table. She began to shake her head. "Then put your wand away Miss Weasley. This is no time for foolish wand-waving"

Rose smiled slightly at that. He had taken that phrase from his own teacher – she knew it! She turned to her other side and groaned. How was it that she had managed to sit next to him again? Scorpius just smirked and once more, Rose was forced to reconsider her view on the unforgivable curses. Surely it wouldn't hurt to do just one, she thought to herself. An almost irrepressible urge ran through her, singing to her.

She buried herself back into her book and flicked to the back where she had added extra pages. She had an idea to fix a potion she had made - a variation of the boil cure potion they would make today. She saw people getting up to get the ingredients from the cupboard and repressed the urge to scream. That was the first potion she had ever made, at the age of four on top of the kitchen stove. She had seen her mother making something and when she asked Auntie Meddie, she had been given the very same book she was using today. She couldn't do it very well and her mother came in just before she had added almost 3 times the amount of Dried Nettles required. Her mother then sat her down and they completed the rest of the potion together.

The next day, she went through all the ingredients with her mother and all of their properties. 'That way' mum said, 'you can tell if potions are written incorrectly or if you are about to make a mistake as you know what goes well together' About a week after that, she attempted the potion again, under her mother's supervision. They then moved onto the next one. Potions became their special thing after that, her mother lovingly taking her through ingredient after ingredient, potion after potion, until she had exhausted even her mother's vast knowledge of them. Then her mother stopped coming home, stopped having holidays so Rose worked by herself.

Her first patented potion was completed 3 years ago and was a variant of the Boil-Cure potion that had started her love of the subject all those years ago. The same Boil-Cure potion that she was going to have to make again today, and one that had to be the most boring, and simple potion ever invented.

The industry didn't even use this recipe anymore. They used something that couldn't really be classified as a potion, only having 2 ingredients and a stewing time of 10 minutes. It was a good base for most cosmetic potions though, Rose knowing from experience, having technically speaking, created her own line of sorts. However, she had a lot of problems with sorting out shelf life and no-one in her family would help her, on her mother's orders she was sure.

She reached into her bag and retrieved her own ingredients. She would be damned if she would desecrate the delicate art of potions by using the second rate ingredients the normal first years were allowed. As she added in the crushed snake fangs of a cobra, she head Jayde whisper across to her "Why are you using a silver pestle and mortar?"

Rose smiled "It makes ingredients purer. The snake fangs get rid of poisons when mixed with nettles, hence the potion fades as it gets rid of the acid in present in the leaves. If purified, it negates the venom residue present on the fangs and makes them more potent, especially when mixed with fresh nettles rather that dried, as the acid reacts better with the fangs, without any added extras." Jayde looked confused, but Rose smirked as her potion became the epitome of the colour coral, as described by the book.

Jayde suddenly looked slightly scared and Rose looked behind her to see the teacher. She gulped and quickly put her own kit away. The Professor held out his hand to stop her "No, please tell me Miss Weasley why you feel you have to totally ignore my instructions?"

Now Rose felt infuriated. She knew what she said was right and wasn't potions supposed to encourage creativity and thinking out of the box? That was what her mother had told her anyway. "Because there is a lot simpler and more effective treatment, one I am sure our Matron uses in her infirmary. What I am doing are merely the first minor improvements I ever made to any potion"

The professor smiled slightly, a glint in his eye. Rose's breath caught "Then I will encourage you to do so, though I expect a full essay on any changes you make to any potion in my class, why they worked, and why they are better that the original. And you will never, ever use experimental recipes in my class. Plus, run them through by me first, if you will"

"Of course Sir" Rose beamed and she went back to her potion, that she was now simmering, despite the recipes instructions to add the horned slugs. In another bowl, she made a paste from the slimy creatures and the porcupine quills, before adding it quickly to the potion. Her potion went to desired green colour and, still hot, she put it into a vial. She finished 20 minutes before her classmates.

She looked at the Professor in askance and he looked up. The question on the board, their homework, was about the terminology of potions, obviously something too simple for the likes of someone with her expertise.

"Miss Weasley. Your homework task is at the front" Rose went up to collect it and her face lit up with a smile. A research project on the uses of South African pixie dust, in a legal potion including why is it used, what could replace it and what are the different bonding agents. "Thank you sir" She said, "May I go to the Library?"

"I doubt you'll find much in there" he smirked. Pixie dust in almost all cases was a highly dark ingredient as obtaining it including killing the highly rare creatures in a way that cursed the unknowing gatherer. And the collector had to be oblivious for the ingredients to be potent. Her eyes became mischievous.

"I know"

* * *

**And there is chapter 7! I hope you enjoyed. As I added to my last chapter, I am now a part of DeviantArt and have lots of lovely pictures to accompany this piece, drawn by the lovely LadyRachlyn! I do encourage as many of you as possible to take a look, for her pieces really are brilliant! Just go to:**

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	8. Trick or Treat

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - it is still exclusive property of JK Rowling**

* * *

Halloween in many cultures, was an important day to witches and wizards, for it was the day that the spirit world was closest to the mortal realm. Unlike many wizarding schools, however, Hogwarts no longer focussed on soul magic, having multiple experiences of what could only be considered corruption of the highest order. Despite this, there were still times that information about the rituals of the past had reached the ears of eager young students that decided that it would be an intelligent idea to spend the 31st October out in the freezing cold to attempt a ritual that could quite easily leave them dead.

Leaving them, or should she say, herself dead wasn't Rose's intention however, as she crept out of the Great Hall to set up the ritual she had been dying to attempt since she had read about it a year ago. It was a ritual to introduce yourself to the ancient spirits, and ask them to protect you, or to bless you. The possible consequences of the ritual, if you were deemed worthy, would be a protector when needed. The spirits aided people with magic, communications and finding their own self. They chose only the best and the purest to be protected with their power.

Rose knew the chances of being one of those accepted by the spirits as one of their few candidates was highly unlikely, tainted as she was, but she had to take the chance. She crept out into the courtyard, abandoned at such late an hour – supper had been served late that day to allow for the festivities of the holiday – and slowly recited the steps in her head. It took little time for her to set up the pentagon needed for the ritual for she had read the books on the spirit world so many times, she could follow the majority of the steps without worry.

She quickly burned the purifying sage to cleanse herself and the circle, before beginning the spell, calling the long Latin chant that she had been reciting to herself for months. The flames of the candle went down low and she felt herself surrounded by what seemed to be a very warm blanket. She closed her eyes and formed her request in her mind, but the spirits beat her to it.

Rose turned, as if by doing so she could see the ethereal beings that were dousing her in comfort and warmth. She felt at peace, which was more than she had felt for longer than she would admit. They moved around her, the soft breeze of their bodies caressing her skin. A small sigh escaped her lips and they were still

"We are sorry little one, but you cannot be chosen" The voice was everything and nothing, a crowd but a single entity, quiet but deafening. It made Rose awaken from her little bubble of happiness. She turned and looked to where the spirits were by her arm.

"I do not understand" she said after a moment

"You cannot be one of our chosen – your power will not allow it. We cannot pledge ourselves to one with such temptations"

"You could help me overcome them" Rose said, her voice desperate. Her mood swing left even her confused. The power needed to hold the circle took its toll and her legs collapsed underneath her. The spirits supported her, surrounding her in their embrace. She could almost feel them shake their head.

"You cannot – it is a part of you"

It was then Rose felt the bitterness. They didn't even give her a chance. Sure she had dabbled in the dark arts – all of the strongest spells resided under that name. But all people used them at some point in their lives – why should she be penalised for it? The spirits cooed their comfort, stroking the bare skin of her arms and legs.

"Do not fret little one. We shall still care for you – we care of all of our children"

Rose looked at the ground as the tears fell down her cheeks. There was a slight pressure under her chin, forcing her to look up. Her tears were wiped away.

"EGO gratias ago vos phasmatis. Absum" She said, ending the spell. The fire went out and the air chilled her skin as she sat out on the grass. The dew soaked through her white, ceremonial robe, yet she was loathed to move. She had been refused. She had always felt the spirits presence in her house – felt their anger as she delved into magics she should never touch, their encouragement at her studies of earth magic.

It was her own anger she felt now – how dare they do this to her? Encourage her, only to allow her to fall at the finish line. It was cruel and unnecessary. She heard the whispers at the trees and she turned from them. The whispers grew louder, as she saw the trees and ground around her spinning. She fell to the ground, unconsciousness taking her unawares.

Beatrice preferred the day time to the night, despite all rumours that said otherwise. She like to feel the sun against her face, the wind blowing the tendrils of her hair our of their normal style, until she had to charm the wayward pieces in place. She would sit on the beach, with Hydrus bugging her to join him in the softly crashing waves. She would refuse him at first, making his eyes narrow and his wand appear in his hand. They would then duel until either one surrendered. But no matter who was the victor, Beatrice would always join her brother in the water in the end. She just couldn't really deny him anything when he was like that – when he wasn't ill.

She sighed and looked down at the leaf litter that always surrounded the Whomping Willow. Her face was bathed in the moonlight as she contemplated the happenings of the last month. Though she would never admit it for the life of her, she missed her brother – his almost puppy like devotedness that just made her masks melt as though they had never existed. She couldn't really remember why she had started this argument in the first place, apart from she was jealous. When he had entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the day after the sorting, he had walked right past her, deep in conversation with a boy from the year above.

She buried her head in her hands. Ignoring him probably was completely counter-productive in keeping him near her. At the time however, when he ran to her after lunch, it seemed like a good idea. She knew that she had hurt him deeply, and all she could think of at the time was that was a good thing. Merlin help her – what if he relapsed and she wasn't there?

She groaned again and kicked the leaf litter high into the air. She walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, her wand in hand as she strolled. She would disillusion herself to get back into her dorm room. The Ravenclaws weren't as bad as she had feared, having a basic consensus to after hour activities being 'If you don't get caught, you deserve the trip'.

Her thoughts were brought to as she heard a twig snap. It wasn't coming from the forest, but a little way in front of her. Quietly, she walked forwards, peering around a large oak. Silhouetted in the moonlight, was a boy, barely a few years older from the look of him. He appeared to be attempting a charm of some description – a very simple spell looking at the wand movements. He tried again and again, until it was almost painful to watch. He swore loudly at his failure and randomly started casting at leaves and other surrounding debris. Beatrice gasped – how was it possible to be so hopeless at magic, yet capable of that sort of magic?

At the noise, he turned to stare at her and with a start, she retreated behind the tree. When she looked again, he had disappeared, all traces of his magic gone with him

Rose awoke to a warm fire and a blanket over her. She shivered, licking her lips that had at some point become dry and chapped. She could hear the crackling of the fire and it comforted her, allowing her to relax once more, until she felt a presence with her. She heard a deep voice, one that in comparison to the rest of her teachers was very unfamiliar.

"Are you feeling better?"

She reluctantly opened her eyes, before closing them again against the blinding light of the room. She took a deep breath and attempted to sit up. She felt someone sit next to her and a weight on her shoulder, encouraging her to stay upright. There was a vial being pressed to her lips, and that voice again, this time encouraging her to drink. She found the strength to shake her head and ask "What is it?" The effort exhausted her, and before she received her reply, she gulped down the liquid greedily, leaning her head onto the shoulder that was near her.

She felt her supporter sigh and shift uncomfortably but she couldn't really find the energy to move. She attempted again to open her eyes, this time with more success. As the world slowly came into focus, she made out a room, around the same size as her dorm. She quickly established that this was her personal idea of heaven. There were large mahogany bookshelves from ceiling to floor and a thick shaggy carpet that made Rose want to jump from the leather couch on which she had been left, to bury her feet into the soft material. There was a desk just to the edge of her vision and it was covered in parchment, articles, notes. She sighed in pleasure without even realising.

She heard a chuckle from a point just beyond her field of view and she blushed as she looked into dark eyes. "Umm… Professor"

His face sobered slightly "You never answered my question before – are you OK Miss Weasley?"

"Yes – umm… much better" she said, her voice failing on the last syllable "You substituted the pomegranate juice" she said, as an afterthought

"Very good – so I did" He replied, waving a hand in front of her face as her eyes glazed over whilst staring at a small stack of books, all with green and gold bookmarks placed at various intervals.

"Is that really…"

"Yes it is – and I'd rather you didn't ask how I got it" was his response and once more he sat by her, placing the blanket over her shoulder to keep off the cold she was apparently feeling. She snuggled into the material, her exhaustion testament to her lack of inhibition. "I'm not going to patronise you – you know exactly how dangerous what you attempted tonight was"

Rose understood the complete change in tone and sat up straight, the strengthening potion allowing her the ability to control her muscles "Of course I knew. I researched the ritual thoroughly when I discovered it a year ago, and I have been reading through my notes for the last two weeks to safety check it"

"Yet you still pass out. How does that fit into your safety equations Miss Weasley?"

"It doesn't particularly – my equations didn't expect it to take that much power. Passing out is always expected after an encounter, but usually only for a few minutes"

"When I received you, you had been out for at least a couple of hours"

Rose sat silent, her trembling reoccurring with new vigour. He frowned at her in consternation. He stood up and disappeared out of the room with no other words, whilst the young girl curled in on herself. She couldn't have been out for a couple of hours – the power expenditure was well within her range. She could send her Arithmancy equations to her mum, but she probably wouldn't have time. She probably got her calculations wrong which was odd because they seemed right – if not slightly grumpy.

Her fingers itched and she had just reached out for the book, when a hand grabbed her wrist "I wouldn't do that if I were you"

Her breath caught in fright and she let out a squeak of surprise. She frowned when she saw it was the Professor "I'm sorry sir – I was just curious"

"Of course you were – but the fact you knew what the book was shows that you know what it can do"

"Hence I was about to apply a shield charm around myself" she said indignantly. The book had on it the majority of the curses her warded books had. There were a couple she didn't recognise, but they seemed to have the same colours and feelings as the other protections – angry and fiery.

"Yes – and a first years shield charm will be enough to protect you from a centuries old dark potion text book?" He asked, frowning again, though this time in genuine anger. She just looked at him uncomprehendingly and didn't answer. He took her silence as an apology and continued "I know what you were doing out there and considering how you were supposed to be in your dorm, I think you are lucky that you haven't been expelled"

"If you please sir, if you were going to expel me, I would not be in your quarters, which if I do say so, is highly inappropriate" Rose said, as haughtily as she could manage

"You will treat me with respect Miss Weasley considering your school career rests in my hands"

"I'm sorry sir" Rose said, appearing appropriately chastised. Professor Zabini held the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"As a result, I give you detentions every night until the Christmas holidays" He held a hand up when she began to protest "No buts Miss Weasley – you are lucky it isn't worse. You could have been killed out there tonight. The only reason that points haven't been deducted is that you are having enough problems from being sorted into my house, I don't believe you need anymore"

Rose looked at the cup of tea that had appeared in her hands at some point during the conversation. She took a sip and shuddered at the taste, making Professor Zabini chuckle once more "You may act older than your years but you still have a child's palate" he said, adding milk and a copious amount of sugar to her beverage. She wrinkled her nose a little bit.

"I'll have you know that I have Earl Grey with lemon – that refined enough for you?" she asked, as though affronted by his observations. She suddenly realised to whom she spoke and ducked down under the blanket. Instead of being insulted however, he appeared vaguely amused.

"You do realise if you act this informally to me in class, I will be forced to take points?" he asked, fully aware of her relationship with almost all of the other teachers in the school. She and her brother had lived within these walls so often during their childhood, the staff that remained over the summer took turns in babysitting, which was probably the cause of the extraordinary intellect this 11 year old had. He was one of the only ones who had escaped babysitting, their parents not trusting the Slytherin with their children, regardless of his neutral stance during the war. He realised that she was replying to him.

"I don't mean to disturb you Miss Weasley" She shut up and looked down at her reflection in her drink "If you could finish your tea, I will return you to your dorm. I am sure your room mate is frantic"

"Of course sir. Thank you for taking care of me – I'd rather not explain to Matron Clearwater why I was so magically drained" He nodded to her, and with a hand on the small of her back, lead to her to the passage way that lead from his quarters, straight to the common room. He noticed her take in the location for further reference. Just as she began to see the Slytherin common room in the distance, she turned "If you don't mind me asking sir, but how was it that you recognised the spell?"

Blaise looked down at the red headed girl, looking so hopefully up at him. He wasn't sure whether his answer made him the destroyer or saviour of those dreams. Yet despite that, he didn't think of lying to her like he would any other first year. In fact, it was hard to think of her as a first year with her intellect. Every lesson so far, she had written an essay for him about the changes to her potions work. She had a talent for it that was for certain.

"I tried the ritual myself, in my first year" he said with a soft sigh. He felt the air warm and all at once he was supported. He saw her questioning look.

"How did it go? Were you accepted" She couldn't keep his eye as she wished for his answer to be no.

"I believe that it is time for bed Miss Weasley" Professor Zabini said, giving her one last encouraging push. She turned around just in time to seen the stone close up behind her, leaving him out of sight.

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**I'm sorry that this is late but Fanfiction wouldn't let me upload any documents. I tried multiple times during the day and am surprised I have any of my sanity remaining! Please keep reading and reviewing! Oh - and thanks to Briedgee who continually reviews but I can't reply to them because they have disenabled private messages. So thank you!**


	9. Prodere

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the potterverse! I do sort of own Jayde, Hydrus and Beatrice I suppose, but they wouldn't be anything without the amazing mind of JK Rowling taking the lead.**

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Rose stood outside the warded door, frustrated at herself for being unable to finish that last barrier into the forgotten Library of the Abraxas tunnel. She had worked hr way through countless layers of protective spells and now it was just a matter of removing the last one, a particularly nasty piece of work that burned the trespasser with a type of magical acid. Her Uncle Bill would be able to rid it within a couple of hours, that she was sure, but even after almost a week of coming in during her lunch hour, and once more after tea, she was still no closer to getting through.

Her lips tilted at the thought of her family. She had been tempted to write to her Uncle, who was once more in Egypt on an expedition, much to the exasperation of Auntie Fleur. She wondered what his reaction would be towards her request – for him to try and open some very dark wards in a decidedly Slytherin tunnel, without anyone else in the school knowing. Considering what she had gathered from her Aunt Fleur's reaction to her sorting, her chances were really quite low in getting any help at all. Her hand went to her pocket, where her recent letter from her parents resided.

_Dear Rosie_

'_I hope you are concentrating on your schoolwork and not on those little escapades of your young lady' That's a direct quote from your mother my dear. She seems to have become a bit pedantic recently. Personally, the escapades us three got up to in our years at Hogwarts really negates any weight to our forbidding you to do anything – so go have an adventure. I'm rooting for you even if your mother isn't_

_I'm glad that Slytherin is going well for you. Of course the rest of the family is fine with it – we are all overjoyed for you. It is only a house after all and none of us really meant any of our teasing remarks. Your house doesn't change who you are inside – just don't start doing any dark magic and proving us all wrong._

_Those Arithmancy equations got to us fine, though I really doubt Athena is going towant to talk to you any time soon. That was a hefty bundle. Your mother said she would read through them as quickly as she could. I wouldn't get your hopes up sweetie – I highly doubt she'll find time for it any time soon._

_Anyway – I have to floo to work in about 5 minutes so I will have to disappear. So this is me – you father signing off. I'll leave the letter on the side in case your mother has time to write a little bit before I send it of tonight._

_Love_

_Dad_

_P.S I'm sorry your mother couldn't add her own little bit to the end of this letter. She is just really busy at work and stuff. Don't worry about it darling._

Her smile was bitter, as once more she wondered whether it would be best just to throw the letter into the fire. Of course her family weren't alright with her sorting – everyone knew that. And…

She sighed and walked down the long corridor. She had managed to open some of the less heavily guarded rooms, like the servant quarters, and the house elves' room, which was definitely an achievement for someone of her age. She sighed once more and allowed herself into the study. It was one of the more recently decorated rooms, there being a pine desk and a leather sofa with a homemade patchwork throw. This was probably the major reason she had managed to work on the wards, for her knowledge on them was rudimentary at best.

A diary, written by one Marvolo Gaunt was the reason for her success. Jayde and her had been looking through the unlocked rooms when the half mer had found the diary, filled with progress reports as the young Slytherin worked his way down the corridor. According to Jayde, the writing was completely illegible, but Rose could read it just fine. In fact, the majority of the writings that Jayde looked at in the hall, she insisted were illegible. Rose would have honestly given her a test for dyslexia if she didn't know for certain that the girl could read her text books fine.

The writing that adorned the stone blocks above each doorway, labelling the rooms was what confused Rose the most, for when questioning them, it became apparent that instead of seeing the letters and words like the Weasley recognised, Jayde just saw a random pattern of swirls. Rose just didn't understand it.

Casting a Tempus charm, and ignoring her rumbling stomach – her studies into this library were more important than her own comfort – Rose got up with a groan to begin the long decent to the dungeons for her detention with Professor Zabini. So far she'd had the joy of such mind stretching activities like scrubbing cauldrons, sorting flobberworms and dicing rat guts for use in the Burn Potion the 4th years were making.

She decided to take the long route, the way she and Jayde had first taken. The door opened at the side of the castle, leading out into the wide open spaces of the grounds. As she stepped onto the cool grass, the door behind her silently melted back into the ancient stone, reminding her in many ways of the Room of Requirement, somewhere she hadn't yet managed to visit, regardless of her promise to herself, and the timetable she had produced that first lesson. That timetable had been scrapped within a couple days once she realised the unlikelihood of her getting up for exercise when she had spent her night reading until the early hours of the morning.

She walked down the softly sloping hill, resisting the urge to speed up as it steepened. The grass tickled her calves as she worked her way towards the forest so she could get onto the path that lead to Hagrid's hut. He probably wouldn't be there. He had been spending the majority of his time down by the lake recently. She had quizzed him about it during her third week of school, but he appeared rather uncomfortable in her presence, and pitying the poor man she had left him alone after he had explained that the squid was acting strangely, as were the majority of the other creatures. Rose wasn't really particularly interested, mainly for the fact that if it really were something worth wondering about, Jayde would have mentioned something. Though her half mer friend was rather tight lipped about her travels to her brethren's kingdom, she did notify Rose if something was wrong, knowing her formidable research skills could probably sort out the problem long before she could.

Rose bent down to scratch her legs. Some research skills she had if she hadn't worked out that walking in long grass was unwise. She probably should have worn long socks or something because knowing her luck her legs were going to flare if she wasn't careful. It wasn't hay fever season, at all but Hogwarts was rather mucked up when it came to appropriate flowering seasons, as could be seen by the blossoming tree at the front of the school. Rose thought that it was probably due to all the magic in the air that caused this biological anomaly.

She made it to the edge of the forbidden forest, peering into the darkness as though mesmerised. She had always felt drawn to these trees, but had been warned so constantly away from them, she didn't even dare encroach on them even when unaccompanied like she was now. It didn't stop it from being tempting though, the branches whispering in the wind, talking, telling secrets that were not for mortal ears.

Her wand was out of her hand before she had even registered anther voice in the area. Even so she figured who it was before she had even turned around.

"Evening James, Albus, Sean!" she said without turning around. She vaguely heard a whispering, though she was unsure whether it was her companions or just the trees again, whispering words of caution. They didn't deign her worthy of a reply, even as she spun on one heel to face them. She wasn't surprised to have her suspicions confirmed, though she was slightly concerned to see a look that was rather akin to hatred on James' face. She felt a pang of hurt at that. Surely they could not despise her so much just for her house?

"Look at the little Slytherin all alone by the forest" James said to Albus. The boy looked conflicted as though unsure whether to be flattered by his elder brother's attention or to feel guilty for turning his back on pretty much everything his father had ever drummed into him. Never having one himself, his dad had always said that family was the most important thing, and that you must never betray them. The battle played across his face, but in the end, the immediate considerations of the one whom he had idolised for the majority of his life won out. Albus had always longed to be like the charismatic, quidditch playing James, something Rose knew would always take preference over her.

That was why during the exchange, as James intently studied his brother's expression, she had slowly made her way towards them. She was only a couple of meters away when they finally turned their attentions back to her. 'A pretty idiotic ambush' she thought to herself. Still, that couple of meters were still enough for the idea of reaching her wand to be near impossible. Plus, James was a better martial artist than herself, so unless she got him by surprise, she highly doubted she'd be able to get it off of him.

She watched angrily as he twirled her wand between his fingers, a skill that Uncle George had no doubt taught him. "Give that back James"

"Why don't you make me?" he said

"Must you persist in this infantile behaviour? I am in Slytherin – there is nothing I can do about that"

"That's not what mother says" James said, "Apparently 'there is a precedent that she will probably bring up if I know our Rosie'" he said, quoting the letter. Rose's face dropped. Did they really think so little of her that they thought she would refuse the house the sorting hat had given her? More than that, did they really think so little of Slytherin that they believed that she would bring up a court case for no other reason than that it wasn't the house she was expecting? Her face dropped even more when she realised who must have supplied that information. She was positive that her Aunt Ginny wouldn't touch _Hogwarts: A History_ with a barge pole if she could help it. In fact, she knew only of one other who knew the book as well as she did – the one who had read it to her in the evenings before she fell asleep.

"Is that so? Well, maybe it didn't occur to you mother that I might prefer to be in a group of people that aren't obnoxious, loud mouthed and uncouth"

James' face hardened for a moment before he sneered at her "A Slytherin through and through"

Rose nodded, a plan formulating in her mind "Of course – allowing me to do this" She took a step forward and said "Accio wand"

The wand pulled itself from James' hand and Rose struggled to keep her expression nonchalant. She hadn't expected it to work, even if accioing your own wand was completely different than summoning another object wandlessly. However, one thing she hadn't counted on in her equation was her cousin's skills as a new seeker. Within seconds, her wand was back in his grasp and she was back in the same situation as before.

Albus was looking at her as if she had grown another head, though she had little time to study his expression she felt an invisible noose around her leg, hoisting her into the air "You finally managed to do that non-verbally?" she said tauntingly, referring of course to the levicorpus that now had her dangling. James had spent the majority of the holiday trying to cast the non-verbal spell without saying a word, flashing frustrated but genuine smiles to his little red headed tutor as she laughed at his ineptness, promising she would help him if she made it into Gryffindor. He ruffled her hair and told her not to worry, for she was a Weasley and they were always lions. She hit the top of his arm good naturedly, correcting his lion to lioness, even as her eyes dimmed at the impossibility of escaping the tradition to be in a more suited house, like Ravenclaw for example. James didn't notice.

Even now, the boy's eyes softened as he obviously remembered the incident and Rose had hope for a moment that he would let her go, recognise that they were still family. He looked into her eyes, filled with hope. That hope was smashed as he returned to the Slytherin crest on her robes. "A bit idiotic of me to reassure you, wasn't it? Tell me, did you beg the sorting hat to let you into the snake pit, or did it take pity on us Gryffindors and decided to keep you away from us itself?"

"I did nothing!" Rose cried, the hurt causing unwanted tears to drip down her forehead. "And why does it matter so? It's only a house – a school tradition. It has no bearing on real life"

James' eye twitched and his wand remained raised "It shows who you are inside. And you aren't the Rosie I grew up with"

Albus now looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, but Rose wasn't really focussing on him as the tears continued to flow in an embarrassing display of weakness. She forced herself to clear her head, finally regaining the mental faculties to wipe her eyes. She took a deep breath and made her face blank, the way that Aunt Meddie had taught her, but assured she would never need to use. "I'm sorry you feel that way" she said, in an emotionless voice that made James double take "But I assure you that I am the same as I ever was. Perhaps you are just seeing your 'Rosie' for the first time?"

She fell to the ground with a wave of his wand. She winced in pain as the hard ground came up to meet her, scraping at her back through the layers. James was looking down at her in pure hatred, and Rose flinched away unintentionally. The tears that she had pushed away before came back full force in the face of such strong emotions thrown in her direction. Slowly, she pushed herself up to look her cousin in the eyes. He looked a lot older than 12 years old.

"Pertrificus Totalis" She didn't even try to dodge the spell flying towards her. There was no point – just a useless expenditure of energy. Her muscles went rigid and strait and she fell back towards the floor. In the corner of her eye, she saw James get up to leave. He was abandoning her, for something beyond her control. Her heart was breaking.

"You can't just leave her – what if she gets hurt" The sound of Albus' protests were nothing but background noise. She felt numb, all sound muffled yet ringing in her ears.

"She's a sneaky Slytherin bitch Albus" That was James, her hazy mind told her. "She's manipulating you the same way she manipulates dad and everyone. I know you thought she was your friend, but she isn't… she can't be" The last three words came as a breathy whisper, a complete contrast to the shouting that had occurred previously. She heard something fly through the air and hit the ground about a metre to her left. "There – now she's a means to escape"

This seemed to appease Albus for she heard the voices fade into nothingness and footsteps, heading back to the castle, following soon after. Then she was alone, the biting air chilling her bones. There was a leaf, falling above her… softly making its way down. It was beautiful – something Rose realised she didn't acknowledge enough. Light shone dimly through the translucent structure, emphasising the darkness of the veins. Red lined the inner column, fading to gold, then outwards to the green that indicated that it was not that leaf's time to leave the parent branch of its home. What had pulled it off?

Rose allowed her eyes to close as she felt it caress her cheek, wiping the tears she was loathed to let fall. The light faded from beneath her eyelids and the cold set in.

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**Oh no, what is going to happen to Rose? Please review and you may find out! I will even reply to any review I receive from an account owner. You might even get a spoiler for next chapter! So please - review? **


	10. Crumbs

**Disclaimer: I do not own at all. The potterverse still belongs to JK Rowling**

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She couldn't move. No – that was wrong – she could move. It just felt wrong. Every muscle in her body ached, even those she didn't even know she had. Her head was muggy, and trying to create a coherent thought was about as easy as running through treacle, which she could have been doing from the way her legs complained as she tried to move them.

There was a weight on her shoulder. She could feel it, the electrical signals running through her nerve endings, informing her brain of the pressure. Her brain processed the information and informed her that it was a hand. But whose? Her brain also informed that by opening her eyes, she could work out the owner of said appendage, and from that make an informed decision as to whether they were to be considered friend or foe.

So she opened her eyes, the eyes that seemed to have been fused together with some kind of superglue. She imagined that she could hear the skin rip and tear as she forced the lids apart, only to be attacked by the cold air, forcing her to shy away. Soft words were spoken, making her brain urge her even more to find the identity of the person. So she forced herself to look. It was then her brain short circuited.

"Wha… what" she stopped, suddenly coughing. Her 'rescuer' helped her to sit, holding back her hair as she retched onto the grass, the white bile staining the green. He scourgified the mess once she had done, and helped her remain upright with a gentle hand on the small of her back, very reminiscent to her time in Professor Zabini's chambers.

"It's all right – it's your body's reaction to being held in stasis for that long" he said soothingly. She shot him a look that clearly said 'I know that'

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was raspy, and it hurt to speak. He held a goblet of water to her lips and she took greedy gulps of the liquid, ignoring his warnings for want of the sweet liquid. She regretted that once she ended up bringing it back up again.

"I told you not to drink it so quick" He refilled the cup with a quick augimenti, looking vaguely amused "Your stomach needs time to settle" He gave her back the goblet and this time she reigned herself in, only taking in small mouthfuls.

"What are you doing here?" She finally asked, her voice vaguely back to normal. She seemed to catch up with the situation as she shivered from the cold. She was quite proud that her question had come out without stammers. Upon seeing her distress, he took off his outer robes and wrapped them around her shoulders. She tried to shake them off but he ws persistant.

"You are cold – if you want to avoid a trip to the infirmiry Miss Weasley– where I should be taking you this minute, you will accept the coat. It was made with warming charms imbued in the fabric so you should begin to feel better"

"I'd expect nothing else form the Malfoy heir" Rose said, the annoyance in her voice watered down due to the bout of shivering that occurred half way through her righteous speech. Scorpius just looked down at her with an eyebrow raised, smirking as she snuggled into the cloak. It was fur lined, made of only the softest of fabrics and had a rather fetching black and green design. Already she could feel the benefit as the subtle extravagance of the cloak made itself known. Her shivering subsided and she took another mouthful of water, which now happened to be warm. It wasn't the nicest beverage she'd had, with a slight metallic taste, but it heated her from the inside so for that she was grateful.

"Thank you" she said finally, offering him a smile. He looked down at her a moment, a perplexed look on his face. She resisted the urge to laugh. He must have noticed the merriment in her eyes for he mockingly scowled at her

"Impertinent girl" he said in an exact imitation of Professor Zabini. She giggled and after a few moments, he laughed along with her, at the pure impossibility of their situation. He stopped when he realised she was looking at him, an intense, piercing stare. His eyebrows furrowed in question.

"In all the times of seeing you – in the common room, in class and all – that's the first time I've heard you laugh. Genuinely I mean" she said upon seeing the look on his face.

He seemed to consider his words, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle from his jumper as he looked at her. At last he answered "It is not often I can laugh"

Rose knew there was more to that than what he had said, yet like with Jayde, she knew it was a fine balance between pushing the boundaries and unintentionally fortifying them. So with that in mind, she pressed no more, understanding that she had been given a glimpse of something that could almost be considered precious in its rarity.

"I should be getting you back to the castle – get up!" he said abruptly, interrupting her thoughts. She looked at him vaguely dazed and he sighed in mock impatience "Are you sure you belong in Slytherin – it was a simple set of instructions"

"In my Slytherin way, Mr Malfoy, I was working out how following them could benefit me" She said with a totally innocent straight face. Scorpius' lips twitched slightly as he bent to put an arm around her waist. She leant on him heavily as her legs turned into a material close to the consistency of treacle when she attempted to put weight on them. He looked at her despairingly.

"What – it's not my fault" she protested, before squealing as he looped an arm under her knees and picked her up. She looked at him, her mouth open in shock.

"A weightless charm" He answered her unspoken question. It took a few moments to allow her brain to reconnect to her mouth. But in those seconds, she had made a very lengthy rant to communicate with him. Not at the least starting with why he was carrying her. "Just don't even bother" he said, once more putting a spanner in her plans.

"Bother with what?" she said insolently, crossing her arms over her chest. He chuckled slightly, making his chest vibrate. She blushed. "What – what is it?" she asked defensively

"Nothing, nothing" he said and they walked in silence the remainder of the way to the side door that led straight into the corridor down to the dungeons. He put her down and removed the weightless charm before it could have the dangerous side effect of causing her organs to move about. There was a reason it wasn't used on humans. He held open the door for her, a mockery of the courteous gesture that it was supposed to be. She glared at him, and he smiled at her. With a groan she entered the corridor, hearing the door click behind her. She kept her gaze fixed to the stairs, only looking up when the feel of his gaze on the back of her neck became too much.

"What is up with you? Why are you staring at me?"

"I should take you to the hospital wing" he said eventually. She looked at him for a moment, not bothering to hide her shock. She coughed slightly, embarrassed.

"She'll just give me some Pepperup potion and perhaps keep me overnight. I don't like sleeping in the open particularly, and I prefer taking my own potions. Which happens to be in my room, not in the hospital wing"

"Why don't you like sleeping in the open?" Scorpius asked. She didn't answer and he wondered whether he had gone to far with his questioning.

"I have one of the largest families in the wizarding world." She said "We have the inventors of most popular joke shop in the country as a close family member. Work it out"

Scorpius couldn't keep a straight face "Is that why you don't want to – you're scared of being pranked?"

She span on one heel, looking up at him defiantly. He was on the step above her, but the added height seemed to be no deterrent as she said "How much does it take for a prank to be dangerous? You know what happened today – work it out"

She walked of in the other direction, planning on seeing Professor Zabini before she went to bed, to apologise for missing his detention. She was about half way around the corridor when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry" She still didn't turn around and the hand fell away "Perhaps that accusation was unfounded" She relaxed slightly "And I'm sorry about your family – they shouldn't be treating you that way"

She stiffened again, an automatic reaction rather than anything else. She felt that pain that had been becoming familiar over the last month or so. The pain that flared up like a burning in her chest whenever her cousins turned away from her in the corridor, or glared at her in the great hall, or avoided her eyes in lessons. The hand came back to her shoulder.

"Why are you being nice to me? You are the great pureblooded Malfoy and I should be one of your worst enemies"

Scorpius sighed "You missed our head of house's opening speech in the common room. No-one came to collect you, or they did and couldn't get through the wards" Rose blushed, even as she turned around to look at him properly. His face was soft, more open than she had ever seen it before. She opened her mouth to say something but he gestured for her to keep quiet. Surprisingly, she found herself obeying. "It was the speech passed down from Head of House, to Head of House. He said we had drawn longest short straw of them all. He said we would be hated, reviled. People we had never met would be prejudiced against us" He shot her a bitter smirk. "Understandable of course. We are the bane of the school. But because of this we have to stick together. We haven't the rest of the school but we will always have each other. No matter your connections, no matter your standing or blood, no Slytherin would turn against you – in public of course. No Slytherin prefect would give one of us detention, because it can be assured that if we were caught by someone else, we would have thrice the regular punishment. If left out in the open, no Slytherin would leave you, regardless if you were their mortal enemy, because we can't expect anything from the rest of the school."

Rose looked at him for a second "Did Professor Zabini really say that?"

"Not in those exact words – in fact, his happened to be a lot better, and left us with the distinct impression that as first years we were to be protected"

"Sorry I missed it" Rose smiled tentatively at him and after a moment he returned it.

"Now – your dorm"

"I have somewhere I need to go first"

"Your room mate was going frantic last time I saw her. She'll have chucked herself off the astronomy tower if you don't get back soon"

"Rather she would try to drown herself in the bath – she's scared of heights" She laughed suddenly, in remembrance of the memory where Jayde figured trying to use gills in soap imbued water didn't allow for breathing, rather just left you coughing and hiccupping bubbles for the rest of the day. Scorpius took a step back in a mixture of alarm and concern.

"Don't worry – I'm perfectly alright" Rose said "My sanity is still vaguely intact. My health is quite happy"

"Hence you are shivering again" he pointed out

Rose looked at him for a moment and room became tense again "You should go. We aren't in public anymore, so you shouldn't be seen in the vicinity of someone like me. I'll take the potion when I get back to the dorm – I promise"

"And why should I believe you? You are a Slytherin after all?"

"You can't – now go away before we get caught. Patrol will come down here soon – and we aren't in public"

Scorpius sighed and seemed to give up. He bowed his head to her in farewell and she went to go down the corridor, past the portrait through which the boy was disappearing. She thought of something "Scorpius"

He paused for a long moment, as though deciding whether to answer or not. Finally he turned back to her "Miss Weasley"

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked

To this he smirked, and they were surrounded by a warm breeze "Let's just say, a little bird told me"

* * *

To stand outside his door and prepare to enter it was probably one of the more scary sensations of her life. She had her hand over the door, ready to knock but she just couldn't do it. But she loved potions, and she didn't want her privileges taken away because she couldn't make it to her detention.

"Come in" The voice was faint and Rose looked at her hand as though it had disobeyed her and knocked anyway. Did he have wards outside his door, or was her earlier pacing just so loud he could hear her from inside his office "Miss Weasley – it would not be in your best interests to keep me waiting"

Her mouth fell open for a second in indignation. She opened the door and stepped into the office. It was actually a relatively small room, with a large oak door at one end, which supposedly led to the professor's chambers. But the walls and floors, which were of the same stone customary of the dungeon, combined with the minimalist design, made the office seem echoing and cavern like.

She looked at her feet, staying near the exit. The teacher hadn't acknowledged her entrance, but rather continued marking his papers with a dark red ink. She recognised the small writing that was indicative of her own work next on the pile and a part of her, probably inherited from her mother, longed for him to continue ignoring her so she could watch the grading of her own essay about the substitution of crocodile heart to a gecko heart and scale paste when used in the forgetfulness potion.

Yet that was not to be as he looked up after putting the final flourish onto the parchment. "Need I tell you that it is past curfew and therefore by coming to me you risk incriminating yourself further?"

"No sir – I am quite aware of the time. I was, however, I did not realise that I was going to miss your detention until it was already too late to do anything about it"

"Come closer girl – I can hardly see you back there" he snapped suddenly and she skittered forward as fast as she could, like a puppy obeying due to fear of being kicked. His lips curled up slightly in amusement at her slight squeak of fear. She'd inherited that from her mother also. "Why were you late Miss Weasley?"

"Late sir? I'm sorry but I was under the impression that I had missed my detention entirely"

"I meant late after curfew. It was obvious that you were out of the castle or otherwise you would have either been able to hear the clock or at dinner. Also, you would have gone straight to the dungeons to apologise to me, rather than only just at" he cast a tempus charm "10 o clock in the evening. So I ask again – why were you late?"

"I was walking out on the grounds and I lost track of the time" She stumbled slightly at the end of the sentence "When I noticed it was getting dark, I was too far away from the castle to reach my detention on time. I apologise sir and I accept any punishment that you wish to assert on me for my disobedience" She appeared to regain her cool, and her face was perfectly blank. She had obviously been taught well the art of subterfuge.

"Don't lie to me girl. There is nowhere on the grounds which is far enough away to take the 5 hours you said it took. It is either you took a very long detour, or something delayed you? Which was it?" His voice was no nonsense and Rose had to suppress flinching away. How could she tell him what had happened? They were family and to attack another student as they had was a very high offence. There was a chance that James could be suspended, and at the very least have detentions for the rest of the year.

"I took a detour. I went around the lake as the original part of the journey, and on the way back and went along side the forbidden forest. I found some fresh mistletoe that was in flower, so I took the time to pick some up"

"And where is this supposed mistletoe?" He asked, his face portraying his disbelief

"In my dorm, drying" she said, hoping that he didn't decide to follow this through and check. She definitely had mistletoe in their room, hanging from the ceiling because Jayde had been complaining for the last couple of days about the necessity of having wards designed to remove as much water from the air as was safe at standing level. So she had been forced to apply them to the highly damp ceiling and place her ingredients up in the rafters to prepare them. However, they had obviously been up there for more than just a few minutes.

"You will be able to procure these ingredients for me?" he said, still sceptical

"Of course sir, though I'd prefer not to because they are hanging from the ceiling so therefore I'll be unable to get them down without awakening my dorm mate"

"Yet you managed to get them up there without disturbing her"

"The wards are already prepared and I have hooks. All I have to do is levitate them up there"

Professor Zabini looked her over and he sighed "I know that isn't what has happened. If you want to protect who attacked you, that is fine with me, but allowing James Potter to walk all over you is not going to make it any better"

The air escaped from her lungs as she felt as though she had been punched in the chest. The effect of the coat had long since worn off, and the toll of having to hide the fact her entire body felt as though it were made of ice. Her knees gave out and she started shivering. The professor stood up and made his way towards her. He measured her pulse, a flighty, irregular beat. Her skin was icy.

"Did you not do anything before visiting me, you stupid girl?" He said, wrapping his cloak around her and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were dilating and her breathing was rapid, shallow. He cursed slightly as she shivered, the full effects of her trauma kicking in. She was probably running on adrenaline he realised.

She seemed to be saying something between shivers "H…how…di..d… you.. know?"

He shook his head, not answering as he went into his chambers to get some potions from his kit, the first being a very potent pepperup potion. She shook her head slightly when he offered it to her "Ch…chime…ra scales – all…l…lergic"

"Uses salamander scales" She looked at him, confused. That wouldn't work as salamander scales would mix into a potion unless there was at least one water based ingredient in the base. "Prepared in frozen ashwinder eggs"

She looked slightly appeased and drank the potion down. The colour immediately returned to her face as the steam appeared from her ears. "I always forget how much I hate that stuff" she said.

Her sentence died as she noticed the look on her teachers face. "I'm sorry sir – I didn't realise how bad it was until I reached the office. I was using a type of warming charm up to that point and obviously it didn't warm me up the way…"

She trailed off – the professor did not look placated in slightest. If anything, he looked even more murderous "So, you decided to come to my office, knowing that you were already under a charm, instead of looking for medical help?"

She looked to the stone floor, shuffling from one foot to another "I didn't expect it to take so long"

He passed her another potion – one designed to heat the body from the inside, more than the pepperup, and another to encourage sleep. She took the first and left the second on the side. "I recognise a dreamless sleep potion when I see it. Why do you think I have mistletoe drying in my room?"

"I'd recommend taking it – being attacked can be a very traumatic experience" She raised an eyebrow at him, forgetting how familiar an impertinent the gesture would appear. If he noticed, he didn't say anything as he replied "Then again, perhaps I forget who I am talking to"

"Perhaps you do – so Professor, I think I should be getting back to my dorm now" She turned on one heel and headed towards the door, praying that he would not call her back. It was not to be

"Miss Weasley, I think perhaps you are forgetting something"

"Forgetting something sir?" She asked, her voice the epitome of innocence

"Yes – a matter of your punishment" Heheld up his hand as her mouth opened in protest "You missed your detention and have yet to come up with a genuine reason why you could. I do not believe foraging for mistletoe counts as a good reason. Each of your detentions will be increased by an hour, considering you have no reason for dinner at the usual 4 o clock with the rest of the students"

Rose beamed at him "Of course sir. I'll see you at 4"

"Oh, an Miss Weasley" She turned back to the desk "Keep your wand ready next time"

* * *

Rose all but skipped back to her dorm, not particularly caring whether she got caught. Only Slytherins patrolled the dungeons, the other houses being too scared that the 'sneaky Slytherins' would attack them in the middle of their rounds. She entered the common room, that was empty bar for a blond boy, lying asleep on one of the leather chairs. She looked at him for a moment with a strange half smile on her face, before going to shake his shoulder to wake him up.

"I'm in the common room now – you can go to your dorm" she said softly as his eyes grew wide at the contact.

"Who said I was waiting for you?" he asked, his voice groggy with sleep. "Actually, I went to the kitchen to make a sandwich and fell asleep whilst eating it"

"Oh" Rose said, her cheeks going pink "Anyway – I thought you might want to relocate so I thought I'd wake you up before I go to the dorm"

He nodded, not looking away form the spot in the middle distance. She sighed and shook her head, walking towards the partition that led to the girls and boys dorms. "Good night" she called over her shoulder. He didn't reply

She continued down the corridor until she reached her dorm rooms. She walked into the room to find Jayde asleep, her face hal in shadows from the lantern on her bed side. There was a book on her chest. Smiling affectionately at the girl who made up her entire circle of friends in this school, or in her life if she were honest, she took the book off of Jayde's chest and slipped it on the side, page marked by one of her infamous green and gold bookmarks.

The half me grumbled and turned over, her forehead creased in a frown. Rose pondered over the expression for a moment. What was she dreaming of? She turned away from the bed to the large book shelves. She ran a finger over the spines, and decided on an old potions text she had found in an antique shop during the summer holidays. It had taken a bit of cajoling to persuade Uncle Harry to buy it for her, as it had been a bit expensive, but she had persuaded him in the end. She paused half way through pulling the manuscript off of the shelf. Was that why they attacked her? James and Albus that was – they did mention something about her godfather.

Her thoughts were disrupted by a soft sound from the other side of the room. She spun quickly, her wand flicked out of it s holster in case of an intruder. It was lowered however, when she realised the origin of the sound. Jayde was tossing and turning in her bed, the frown on her face becoming ever more pronounced. Rose's brow furrowed in confusion as she went towards the girl, bringing her candle with her.

"Jayde?" she asked tentatively. The girl turned over, her strange features even more pronounced by the shadows of the half light, her veins almost black against the grey of her skin. She moaned again, a scared sound that sent a shudder of fear down Rose's spine.

Rose watched helplessly as the girl thrashed upon the matress, her entire being an incarnation of the word terror. She reached out to touch the half mer, but she flinched away as though sensing the incoming contact. Slowly the incomprehensible groans became pronounced, controlled. She listened closely, regardless of the invasion of privacy.

"No… daddy… don't… no… it hurts…not again… please… daddy" The string of words were nonsence, yet it was obvious that they were distressing the girl

"Jayde – wake up" Rose repeated the words in a soft, crooning voice, placing a soft hand on Jayde's forehead, shimmering softly from the layer of perspiration that had formed beady droplets down the contours of her features. After a moment, the girl opened her eyes, forming slits between the lids. The words were so soft, Rose had to bend to hear them "Mama?"

Rose looked at her sadly. She complained about her family, yet she should be grateful that she had one at all. "No. It's me Rose" She hunted around in her pockets until she found the vial gifted to her by Professor Zabini. She uncorked it and put an arm under Jayde's back o help lift her up "You were having a bad dream, but I have something that will make it better. A couple of sips of this and it will all go away"

"Nothing can make that go away" she said, even as she took the potion. Her voice was slurred and husky, hard to make out "He said so"

Rose nodded, lowering her friend back to her pillow, the strange words running through her head. Who was he? What had he done to her to make her so scared. The questions bounced back and forth through her head as she went back to her bed, lying back onto the duvet. She wasn't in the mood for reading anymore.

The last thought she had before she submitted herself to oblivion was, where was the crumb covered plate?

* * *

That was the longest chapter so far! It only started off as 2000 words and all but it didn't want to be cut in half at all. Once again my chapters are rebelling. Is this good or bad I do not know! Please Review!


	11. Sharing

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Never have done, never will. I don't own the rest of the potterverse either but I am working on that one!**

* * *

The rest of the term flew by quickly and Hydrus was getting more and more desperate. His sister had barely spoken two words to him since their arrival at Hogwarts. He knew that she was jealous about him getting into Slytherin where she had failed, but he didn't realise the wounds went that deep. He missed her dreadfully. If he was honest to himself, she was more of a mother to him than a sister, a person who was always there through thick and thin. She would hold him close and croon to him when he had a nightmare, teach him everything she knew, care for him when he was sick. She was definitely a mother where others had failed. He didn't want her to be angry at him.

He sneered at a student who happened to get to close to him in his brooding state. He had listened to her words _'Remain neutral, subtly build yourself up, bottle your hatred. It will not be forever'_

It wouldn't be forever – those words flew around his head constantly. It wouldn't be long until she would come back to him, until she wrapped her arms around him, smelling of safety and warmth. It wouldn't be long until she linked hands with him to offer comfort, wrapped her arms around him when he tiptoed with ice cold feet to her bed, until she softly kissed his forehead and offered him reassurance, whispering consoling words. He hoped it wouldn't be long because he didn't think he'd survive it much longer.

* * *

Rose grabbed Jayde's hand the moment the Herbology lesson had finished "I have an idea"

Jayde looked over at her friend coolly for a moment before nodding slightly, casting the mufflatio charm Rose had taught her. The ginger haired girl seemed unable to remain still. It was only 5 minutes later when Jayde realised that they were heading to the lake. Jayde knew that Rose was very, very jealous of her connection with the merpeople, the envy almost tangible in the air when she would go down for hours under the surface and come back laughing, usually with a merperson by her side, to wave her off. Jayde also knew that Rose wouldn't be one to just stand by and allow this to happen, not knowing why being near the merpeople was so important to Jayde. But the Weasley was too happy, and the half mer was instantly suspicious. She stopped in the middle her wooden trellis. "What are you on about Rose?"

Rose stopped and turned around, the excitement in her eyes dimming slightly. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"I might do if you actually tell me what this idea of yours is" This was said as more of a sigh than anything else. The number of times one Miss Rose Weasley had randomly grabbed the half mer by the hand to drag her to some god-forsaken area of the castle, or a dust covered section of the library, or a dark, deserted area of forest that Jayde really wasn't too sure was still on the school grounds despites Rose's protests that it was. Though it sounded strange, she was actually getting used to this 'adventure hunting' as her companion called it.

The red head held up a handful of what looked like black slime. Jayde recognised it immediately from the image in the Daily Prophet "Is that the Undahelo plant?"

The Undahelo plant, commonly known as Fleuvre Plant, was a relatively new discovery. One Miss Frieda Fleuvre, an American herbologist, found a sample of it in the lake that she studied, and upon testing, it was revealed to be a new species. Further research proved it to exponentially increase the strength of burn potions and salves, as well as having the same properties as the more commonly used Gillyweed, without the unwanted side effect of collapsing the lungs of the user after only 5 trips. The downside however, was that it was a plant developed and grown by the merpeople, the same way that humans had bred cows and sheep, and the merpeople did not want to give it up.

"Yep – it was hell to get some but I finally decided to just steal some from Professor Blaise's lab"

"You have a ton of the stuff in your potions kit"

"Yes but that's really, really expensive potions grade – definitely not for eating. But this – this is the lower grade stuff. Anyway – it was more fun to navigate his private stores!"

Jayde looked at her uncomprehendingly. "And why are you waving it in front of my face like it is the answer to world hunger?"

"It'll give me fins"

"It's taken you how long to figure that out potions girl?" Jayde grinned and raised an eyebrow, a skill that Rose, much to her annoyance and Jayde's amusement, couldn't do for the life of her.

"So" Rose said, looking slightly put out that her friend hadn't guessed her plan. So she said the next bit very slowly, as though she were talking to a mentally challenged 3 year old "I can join you when you visit the merpeople"

Jayde began to protest immediately but Rose placed her hand over her mouth, wary as the sharp toothed girl took a snap at her playfully "Careful Sharky – I like my hand" she said with mock sternness. She was serious again "But can't you see. It would be perfect. Undahelo is still in testing stages – not much is done yet and they don't want to risk proper diving expeditions yet because we haven't got enough of it. The mermaids guard it jealously. But with you, they could give it to me. Think of the research I could do on the plant. It was only discovered half a century ago" Jayde still felt really unconvinced and her expression said as much. Rose sighed "I really want to share this with you Jayde. It's just so important to you and…"

Jayde's eyes softened, especially when Rose gave her a sad smile, far to reminiscent of her first few weeks at Hogwarts, especially as she was getting used to her family looking the other way as she walked past. The look in her eyes the first time that Miss Dominique Weasley took points from her cousin for 'loitering in the corridor', would haunt Jayde as long as she lived, and had nearly made her hex the Gryffindor into oblivion.

But – it would be such a personal a thing to share with the girl. Her only safe place, her only friends. She mentally chided herself. The merpeople weren't her only true friends anymore, weren't the only people she could talk to. Well, that was the theory – she hadn't said anything important to Rose yet. Their secrets pact was still holding strong, yet despite this, they seemed closer that ever. Jayde wondered whether she would ever be strong enough to share the darkest aspects of herself. She flinched slightly at the memories flashed before her and she sighed. She probably never would.

"I really don't think…" she trailed off, the disappointment in Rose's eyes causing a lump to appear in her throat. Yet the disappointed look was gone within a moment and replaced with a blankness that was far worse, as Jayde knew Rose started to perform the inherently Slytherin trait of suppressing her vulnerability.

"I understand. Thank you for considering my suggestion though" Jayde winced at the clipped, pureblood-like voice that seemed foreign from Rose's mouth when it was aimed at her. Only when she was overwhelmed or facing someone she disliked did this voice come into play.

She sighed. Would it really be so bad as to share this with her? Was she being selfish by trying to do keep it to herself? She took a deep breath and held her face in her hands in exasperation "I hate it when you do that!" She complained

"Do what?" Rose asked, wriggling about like a kitten, her face far too innocent. The vaguely haunted look was gone and Jayde didn't know whether to be pleased or frustrated with its fickle disappearance, though there was no doubting its being genuine.

"You know what!" Jayde replied, laughing as her friend leapt up and gave her a tight hug, saying thank you over and over again like a small child. Jayde stood away for a second. "Well you can't go yet, that's for certain"

Rose looked disappointed, but seemed already resigned to the fact "I know – I have so much to learn"

"We'll start tonight then – and no – not now. I have to sort out the best way of teaching you mermish. Or perhaps we could do that later and I could just teach you basic etiquette. Merlin knows you need it"

"I have etiquette" Rose protested, though she knew what Jayde meant. Jayde just looked at her and once more raised an eyebrow, causing Rose to growl in frustration and make some very interesting facial expressions in an attempt to copy the move. In the end she gave up and instead just hit the top of her friend's arm "Go to hell"

Jayde laughed "Very mature! Right – how much have you read?"

Rose, instead of answering, raised her top lip and bared her teeth, her eyes wide open and her arms raised from her side. Jayde almost instinctively copied the expression, and a staring contest ensued, one that Rose lost. She blinked and lowered her head and tilted it to the side to which Jayde walked closer and held out her hand. They both gripped the other's arm, just before the elbow and looked into each others eyes. "Greetings sister" Rose whispered

"And may water ever fill your soul" Jayde replied as though in a trance. They stood together, brown eyes meeting blue, long past the appropriate time for such a ritual. Jayde suddenly coughed and looked away. "I guess you know a little bit then" She blushed, her skin going a dark green as it did when her glamour was down. Rose nodded, suddenly shy. Jayde coughed again, another unnecessary gesture. "So you know the initial greeting towards another female of equal standing and the symbolism I assume. Anything else?"

"Initial greeting to those of high standing, both male and female, and the regular greeting to those already met" Rose replied "And I can express formal gratitude. You can't really learn much from books on this subject though – mermish can't be written"

Jayde looked down a second and Rose looked ready to amend her final point when she was interrupted "Well – that's a good start then. I'll teach you some so you can practise over the holidays"

"Right – let's get started!"

* * *

Jasmine lay back on her bed in the dorm, sighing. She had begged her father for a separate room but he had refused, saying that she had to 'make friends' like normal children. She'd snorted at that – he meant make connections. You didn't have to be amazingly selective when it came to making friends.

Jasmine gazed at her ceiling, repressing a sigh of boredom. The Slytherin Dorms were made entirely of stone – there was the one with the crack down the middle, there was the one with the chip off the bottom left corner, revealing a surprisingly white under layer. There was the stone that had somehow grown moss despite the house elves' pedantic cleaning. She had been watching that section of greenery over the last couple of days.

"When you have started caring about the growth of a weed, you know you've lost it" Jasmine murmured to herself, rolling onto her side, to another view of imperfect stone wall. She traced the grey rectangles with her finger, sighing and releasing her masks for a moment. The dorm was empty, her normal followers in the Library on her command – 'I cannot be seen around a bunch of illiterates'. That meant she could relax – right?

The door swung open and she felt a sudden weight on the side of her bed, making her jump. She saw lilac ringlets and swore softly, too quiet for anyone but herself to hear. She wasn't in the mood for Indigo's never depleting store of energy, regardless of how contagious it may be at the time. Long hours spent with the ridiculously happy girl were draining, even to the Gryffindors she had somehow managed to coerce into breaking the mould and being friends with her. But for some reason, she still considered Jasmine to be her best friend. "You're a mystery" Would be her only reply whenever the Malfoy would playfully elbow her in the ribs and ask why she put up with her.

But there were no Gryffindors about today, as she was unceremoniously told by the metamorphmagus as she jumped up and down on the bed. The rest of the sentence was unintelligible as Jasmine's arm was pulled in an obvious attempt to get her up and off of the nice, comfy mattress.

"No – leave me alone" Jasmine moaned, wondering why on earth she was really protesting. She had nothing better to do. 'Probably a lifetime of enforced solitude' she thought to herself 'Being a Malfoy really destroys your social skills' She turned her attention back onto her friend who had now worked herself up into such a frenzy, Jasmine almost suggested for her to sit down to avoid passing out. "Calm down" she said imperiously and Indigo immediately shut up as the generations of power and breeding ran through Jasmine's voice "Now – what is this about the weather?"

"It's snowing!" Indigo said, now actually laughing. Jasmine couldn't help a smile "Everyone else has gone out to have a snowball fight but I came back to get you. I didn't think you'd want to miss this!"

Jasmine was touched that Indigo had thought to come back and get her, not that she showed this at all. Most Slytherins were too self serving to have bothered, even if she was a Malfoy and therefore to be respected. But still, snow wasn't really her thing. It was cold, and wet, and bright red cheeks really weren't good for a complexion such as hers. Indigo began to noticeably deflate as she realised the excitement she felt, obviously wasn't being reproduced in her companion "I'm sorry – I just thought. Don't worry about it – I'll be outside"

Jasmine looked at her pleated skirt, alternately grasping and releasing the expensive material in her hands. She felt guilty. Indigo was almost out of the door when Jasmine looked up and called "Give me a moment to change"

Indigo's face lit up. 'I'm going soft' Jasmine thought to herself as she smiled back and got up to get dressed, chastising her friend as she was ushered along at top speed. 'She cannot really want me there that much' she thought to herself as she pulled on a thick, blue jumper, followed by her coat. But still Indigo waited, until Jasmine was grabbed by the hand and all but dragged outside into a blanket of snow already almost knee height.

Though Jasmine wouldn't admit it, as she looked over from the white defences of her snow fortress, throwing snowballs at her friend who had changed the colour of her hair to 'blend into her surroundings', she didn't think she had ever enjoyed herself that much. In fact, she almost managed to convince herself she didn't want to go home that Christmas, but stay at school instead. She shook away that thought immediately. She was a Malfoy.

* * *

**Right - this chapter is a bit shorter than the more recent ones that have been coming out but this is important for the rest of the story! Please review - I know you are reading it really! You just need to click that little button to make an author very, very happy!**

**Review?**


	12. Sanguine

**Disclaimer: Still don't own**

* * *

Rose looked out of the window, the monotony of the outside world boring her as she sat in the carriage on the way back to Hogwarts, alone in the compartment. Jayde had insisted that she went home for the holidays, an act that the Slytherin had been dreading. And to top it off, the half mer had refused the invitation to the Weasley Christmas, despite Rose's constant pestering.

Christmas had been as she had expected. She sighed – no it had been worse than she had expected. Her father had kept being so overly enthusiastic about her house that it was as plain as day what he really felt. The Hogwarts children kept up their hostile 'I couldn't care less' act, and showed open surprise when she didn't tell on their pranks or hexes. And Louis, the little cousin who had idolised her throughout all of last year, he came up to her asking whether she was a Dark Witch now and should he stay away from her. That in itself hurt more than anything.

Aunt Gabrielle treated her normally at first, but it was plain how strained her relationship with the other adults had become and that the whispers of 'Don't encourage her' that followed the pair whenever they went to study, were taking its toll when her tutor went onto the darker charms she had been promising for months. When the tension between her and her elder sister became regularly noticeable (the elder saying how Rose was already be a bad influence on her own children, especially little Louis, without her being taught more material), Rose just asked her Aunt to go over the basic charm theories required in order to cast the very harmless cosmetic charms. The relief of the woman was palpable.

Her other tutors had, 'for revision purposes', gone back to less harmful part of the course and her father only continued some of her lessons because Uncle Harry forced him to.

Surprisingly considering his former deeds, out of all of the adults, only Uncle Harry treated her the same. In fact, he had confided in her that he had almost been placed into Slytherin himself, which had delighted Rose, who had always been told how Harry was the consummate Gryffindor. She now had a stronger relationship with her Godfather than ever before, which in itself was a good thing, if not just for the jealous rage she could feel coming off of Albus, who already felt ignored in comparison to his elder, attention seeking brother and his perfect little princess sister. That he told her under a vow of secrecy last summer during a sleepover at Aunt Meddie's house. There was no disclosing of secrets now though, not to the untrustworthy Slytherin.

She had longed for a presence her own age throughout the entirety of the holiday. She wanted someone who accepted her, regardless of her house, with whom she could talk to without being judged. Her mother had put new wards on the Dark Section of the library, 'just for extra security' as she put it. Not that her mother was home for most of the vacation, having to put in extra time at work - 'just until this experiment is finished' - extra time with her boss – 'a necessary bore darling' and working deep into the night and early hours of the morning– 'I don't need much sleep sweetheart so I might as well do it then'.

No – Rose Weasley's holiday had not been a happy one. The only upside of it was she had spent the majority in her bedroom, reading books from the re-warded section of the library, practising the long list of mermish customs given to her by Jayde and writing long letters to her half mer companion, that from about half way through the second week, were sent in the highly complex written word of the merpeople.

Her parents had become suspicious within a week of her receiving these 'secret' correspondences – well, her father did as her mother wasn't home in the mornings when Athena flew through her bedroom window. James had attempted to steal her stash of letters at one point near the end. That had been amusing – he held the scars for almost 3 days before Aunt Ginny had persuaded her to spell them off. The picture of her cousin with large spots spelling out the word 'THIEF' over his cheeks was one that she would treasure forever. It was nearly worth the looks she received after that – the looks that seemed crossed between suspicion, worry and fear.

She sighed once more and looked out of the window. She vaguely heard the compartment door open and didn't even bother to turn around, having a hunch as to who it was.

"Hey freaky little cousin of mine"

"Hello James" she sighed "And are you there too Lucy?" She turned to confirm her suspicion. The red haired girl stood at a stark contrast to her dark haired, aggressive companion. Seeing them side by side, it was hard to consider them related at all. Once more Rose sighed "Is there any particular reason for your visit?"

"We… we came…h…here…" Lucy stuttered and Rose resisted the urge to groan. She and Lucy had been friends up to last summer. She was the only one who understood why anyone would love to read and to learn. Rose had thought she had been a dead cert for Ravenclaw, but the sorting hat had decided not to break tradition and sent the girl with the rest of her relatives. Now however, she had been banned by her Ministry obsessed father to associate with the 'black sheep' of the family, which seemed a good excuse for the girl who had been an insufferable coward for as long as Rose could remember.

"We came here to get you to take that hex off of Domanique" James said, obviously fed up of Lucy's stutter. "She has been in tears for the last 15 minutes"

"And what hex would that be?" Rose asked, the epitome of innocence.

The vein in his temple throbbed in a way Rose thought impossible for someone younger than 40 years of age. "You know what hex. You cannot expect her to go to school with her face stained blue"

Rose could hardly keep the smirk from her face "You meant the way she expected me to go to the ballroom with my face stained green?" Her voice was deadly serious "She's just highly unfortunate that unlike me, she doesn't know how to remove unwanted blemishes"

James' hand went to his wand "You will remove that curse from her right now you Slytherin bitch"

She was careful not to let the hurt show on her face as she sharply stood up but even her relatively good self control failed when James had his wand in his hand at the unexpected movement. Even little Lucy was prepared for an attack from their evil, Slytherin cousin. Her eyes filled with hurt. "I will see what I can do – I mean, I don't know what the perpetrator used at all so I have no idea whether I'll be able to do anything"

"Just go – now" James spat and with glistening eyes, Rose walked down the compartment. Some things just didn't change.

* * *

Jasmine sat heavily down into the compartment, smiling at Arriana as she did so. Her brother sat by her side. He didn't smile, instead just oozed arrogance and power in a way that made her sick. Arriana smiled and kept her eyes on Scorpius. They were too young to really experience attraction in a sexual way as far as the female Malfoy was concerned, but they had been tutored in the importance of a good, wealthy, pureblood marriage. That definitely made Scorpius attractive in more ways that one.

"I have heard that your grandfather's campaign had been going well" Arriana said, leaning back on the seat, her friend Daphne Blishwick nodding eagerly by her side. Jasmine could see the annoyance in Scorpius' eye – an irritation that mirrored hers. They wished to speak politics in order to send information back to their families.

"Yes" Scorpius replied, his voice measured and articulate "My grandfather has been pleased with how well the general public have understood the message at the heart of the campaign, and have realised the danger that they have been putting themselves and their children in due to the unintentional ignorance of those born into muggle households"

"Are there any plans to expand at the moment? It is understood that your grandfather lost this year's election for Minister of Magic to Arthur Weasley. Surely it is a concern that you have been undermined by the general populace for want of another" Translation here being, Jasmine thought wryly – should we support you if you are incapable of getting enough support?

"Yes" Jasmine took over the speech, a smile bright on her face "However, we also need to take into account that this is grandfather's first true introduction back into politics after the awful happenings of the war. Also, we have already been notified that this will be Arthur Weasleys final term in office before beginning their trip to Romania to visit their eldest son and his lover. The campaign plans that Grandfather Lucius has deemed us worthy of seeing, show a rapid expansion both in the public and private sector, that if the arithmancy calculations are correct, garner us the majority of the peoples vote"

Jasmine leant back to allow the 'heir' of the family fortune and business to carry on with the sales pitch as she allowed her attention to return to the view outside of her window. Such was a day in the life of a Malfoy.

* * *

The first thing that Rose did when she saw Jayde in the Great Hall was say in perfect mermish, the greeting that they had been practising before they had split up. Jayde returned with her part of the ritual, before continuing the conversation in the screeching tones that Rose doubted she'd ever be able to fully replicate.

"Show off" she grumbled, elbowing her friend as they sat down for dinner. She smiled serenely and they fell into a comfortable silence. Rose thought of something "Hey – have they given our matches for the mentoring program yet?"

"Not yet – I cannot believe that you actually put your name down for it!" Jayde exclaimed, "I mean, knowing your amazing luck, you'll be paired with your beloved Scorpius"

"He is not my beloved! I would never lower myself to his level. Plus, I don't think he'd need mentoring. He's a Malfoy – he was brought up with magic. He wouldn't be allowed to fail anything"

"The other pureblood Slytherins are"

"But the other Slytherins are thick!"

"Good point" Jayde said and they both burst out laughing. Rose looked up to see her relations at the Gryffindor table looking at her from across the room. Her face fell and she looked back at her food to shield herself from their glares. Jayde moved her friend's hair from in front of her face before attempting to click her finger in front of her eyes. "Yoo-hoo! You have to help me out here – I still can't make that infernal clicking sound"

Rose couldn't help but crack a smile "You mean this one?" she asked, demonstrating the action

Jayde pretended to look vexed "Yes that one – but I have the solution" She made a series of clicking noises with her tongue

"That's cheating" Rose giggled and she placed her hand in front of the half mer's mouth, her face a picture of disgust when she removed it covered in saliva.

Jayde's face became serious "Were they that bad over Christmas?" she asked, her voice sympathetic. Rose didn't answer. "You know we promised not to delve into each other's secrets and to respect each other's privacy but you'll have to start trusting me at some point"

Rose continued to look at her plate of food, unspeaking and Jayde sighed. As was the way of the Weasleys – well this Weasley at least. She couldn't get even the hint of a confession when she was feeling sad or hurt or anything. There was a time in Herbology, a subject that neither were amazing at - Rose in the practical sense, Jayde just full stop - when Rose was bitten by a baby venomous tentacula that Professor Longbottom had to keep with him because it didn't grow correctly whilst in germination. The venom had turned the best part of her index finger green before anyone had noticed, and even when she was sent to the hospital wing, she refused to show any pain on her face, nor make a sound. She said it was because in her household, though they were very close, if you showed any sign of weakness at all, you would be pranked in some way, shape or form. Most of the others didn't bother to hide their feelings – Gryffindors, all of them – but Rose had decided that prevention was the best cure, especially whilst she was trying to study, so kept all vulnerability to a minimum.

"I'll tell you later" Rose said suddenly and Jayde stared at her in shock. She had never really expected for the red-head to agree. She smiled at her and said in mermish "Of course sister"

Rose smiled.

* * *

Scorpius was relieved to finally be in the common room, away from the watchful eye of the school. Many of the Hogwarts residents, faculty and students alike had been following his father's campaign to be Minister of Magic, and it was probable, expected even, that he, being the heir, would field many questions or be the subject of much dislike because of it. In here may be more of a danger than out there, but at least in here, everyone knew where they stood.

Sighing, he lay back on his usual black leather seat, watching his sister converse with her metamorphmagus friend, irritation clear on her face. As the girl huffed and looked away from her ringletted companion, the Malfoy heir had to refrain from smiling. He disliked his sister a lot, yet it was good to see the beginnings of a true friendship between who he was sure Jasmine wanted to keep a pawn. He looked at the girl again, now laughing and tugging at Jasmine's arm. The blond reluctantly turned and she playfully hit Indigo on the arm when she realised the girl had morphed her hair into an exact replica of her own style.

Reluctantly he was pulled from his observations by one of his followers – Nott he thought it was – gently trying to get his attention. He turned and set the boy with a piercing glare. He flinched and Scorpius smirked.

"What is it?" He asked impatiently, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry Sir but the Weasel girl wishes to speak to you. Do you want me to send her away?" The boy looked at Goyle who prepared for the removal of the red head in question.

"That will be unnecessary. Send her forward" Nott looked disappointed and motioned the way, allowing her to enter the ring of followers that always surrounded this area beside the fire. Unlike most people, she didn't look uneasy as most did when being scrutinised the way she was. In fact, she looked the opposite

"And what is it that brings you to me?" he asked her, breaking the silence that seemed to have fallen over them, his eyebrow raised questioningly. Her face was not amused and her eyes narrowed at him for reasons unknown.

"Why did you put yourself down for the mentoring scheme?" She asked him, her voice appearing to be angry

"Why does anyone join a mentoring scheme?" Scorpius replied, sneering at her. He hadn't looked at the board yet, but his father insisted he show humility and allow himself to be mentored. It seemed a ridiculous notion, considering he was only second to Rose in all of his classes. Considering her reaction, he had been placed with her. Upon coming to that conclusion, he turned his attentions back onto the Weasel. Instead of reacting to the hostility as most girls would – either being hurt or infuriated – she just looked at him, an expression on her face that was so blasé, he blinked a couple of times.

"Watch out for if the wind changes" she sniped at him instead of answering his question. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nott hold his wand. He contemplated for a moment allowing the spell to hit her. It wasn't as though the boy, though definitely intelligent, could cast anything more harmful than a stupefy. On that thought, perhaps he would…

There was a flash of light and he saw Nott fall to the ground. There was a cry of outrage and almost all in the room, apart from Jasmine, who was still with Indigo, stood with their wands drawn. The common room was silent, not even the seventh years daring to break it as Scorpius stood up. Rose's actions suddenly seemed to have caught up with her as she seemed nervous. He walked up to her, allowing his frustration towards this strange creature who didn't cower before him break free. He circled her, watching as her face began to break and her fear became more prominent. That was good – at least she knew who she was dealing with.

"You know" he said, coming to a stop in front of her, "I was being patient, humouring you if would, until now" He looked over at Nott, who was being looked over by his older brother. The sixth year looked furious at the actions of the Weasley. "What makes you think you could take on my friends without being held accountable for your actions?"

The entire house was listening now, from the corner of his eye people entering from the dormitories. But the majority of his attention was on her, and her reaction to his last sentence. It was the immediate change that surprised him. The fear seemed to be shrugged off and she looked directly into his eyes "What gives you the right to hold me accountable for your little sheep's lack of intelligence?"

From the crowd, he saw her little friend stand next to her. "How sweet – a united front" Rose's jaw clenched and she softly motioned for Jayde to go back. The half mer refused, her eyes filled with loathing as she looked at Scorpius. Rose seemed resigned, if not quite angry at the girl's intrusion. "What have we here then? Very protective of you lover aren't you?"

Rose seemed to decide to ignore the jibe and instead concentrated on her opponent. She took a step closer, to which Scorpius smirked. Her eyes narrowed and he held his wand in his hand, just as a gentle reminder. The reminder obviously didn't seem to work as he saw Crabbe immediately come forward as a spell left her lips.

Scorpius cast a protego around himself in response and instead of casting another spell in retaliation, something that was sure to result from a double attack from bother of his opponents, he waited for Crabbe and Goyle to fulfil their duties towards him with a nod of his head. He was therefore surprised when he found them both to be surrounded by a large dome-like shield that obstructed his help.

He sighed "Must we do this?"

Rose looked at him and smirked, the tension seeming to have left her completely and replaced with an almost teasing lilt. "Of course not. All you must do is promise me you won't set your lackies on me, won't attack me, won't atagonise me, not be a prat in our mentoring session…"

He lips had begun to tip up the length of her list, but his amusement died when he heard her talk about his mentoring sessions. "You are actually planning on going forth with these sessions?"

For the first time since their confrontation began, she began to laugh. She sobered at the look on his face "Both you and I know that you don't need these sessions at all. I think the worst subject you're at is charms, where you are third in the year under your sister and me. I don't know what even ran through your head when you put your name down for this thing"

Scorpius remained silent, clamping down firmly on the part of his brain that wanted to thoroughly explain how it wasn't his idea. He shook his head, an action that seemed to make Rose stop her tirade. She looked at him once more, and her eyes closed slightly in what seemed to be confusion. He couldn't allow that so he abruptly said "So since the clever little mudblood worked that out all on her ownsome, what do you have in mind?"

She seemed thrown by the slur and he felt slightly taken aback. He had never really used the word as a direct insult before, and so seeing the effects of it, especially in someone who had never really even batted an eyelid at any of his digs before, was disconcerting. It was worse when her response made it through to his, still processing brain. It was blank, holding none of the rude, infuriating and unwanted familiarity of their other dialogues. "I suggest that I will owl you the directions once and when I have become familiar with the proceedings"

She held up her wand and he automatically went into a defensive stance against her. She flinched involuntarily as she looked at him, and he knew that who she was seeing wasn't Scorpius Malfoy. She stood up straight and shook her head a couple of times and when she looked at him, the hurt was no longer as obvious, but she was obviously no occlumens. She looked at him for a moment and he felt a pang of something, a lump in his throat. "The dome has shown us to be duelling for the last 5 minutes" she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "I would recommend keeping to that story."

She whispered a few spells and the dome fell down. As she turned away from him "And for your information – Half Blood"

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter up though I am completely dead! I've been walking all weekend which means my feet are covered in blisters! Hopefully your reviews will make me feel all better so I can get the next chapter up though!**


	13. Figentes Tenebris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form. It is an unfortunate fact of existance that I have to live with everyday!**

* * *

_"Beneath the water people drowned,_  
_Yet with another heaven crowned,_  
_In spacious regions seemed to go_  
_As freely moving to and fro:_  
_In bright and open space_  
_I saw their very face;_  
_Eyes, hands, and feet they had like mine;_  
_Another sun did with them shine."_  
**Shadows in the Water by Thomas Traherne**

* * *

"I don't think this is a good idea – I mean – what if you get something wrong. I can't defend you if the entire tribe decides you insulted them"

"Stop making excuses. You said I was getting better - and I don't mean to be offensive"

"I know you don't mean to but you have to remember this is a very hierarchal society. We're born with the knowledge"

Rose looked at Jayde sceptically as she sat on the edge of the wooden trellis, her feet dipping into the icy water below at periodic intervals. The half mer swam a bit away then back again with a flick of her tail "OK, maybe not born with it but we might as well be. It's drummed into us from our first conscious thought"

Rose leaned forward and grabbed her friend's shoulders before she could swim off "I. Can. Do. This"

Jayde sighed "Please don't"

Rose smiled slightly and looked around again. Jayde groaned, obviously finding the motion unnecessary even as her friend's spells detected no one in the vicinity. The reason for the red head's paranoia was the fact that the Care of Magical Creature's professor had spent more time by the lake than he had in lessons during the last month or so. Something was happening to the creatures, he said, yet he could give no evidence except from his knowledge of the lake. However, Jayde still reported everything to be fine so Rose didn't really worry about it too much, though she couldn't say she wasn't curious as to why Hagrid was pouring a gallon of Firewhisky into the lake three times a day.

But now wasn't the time to ponder on such things. Rose took a mouthful of the plant. It was slimy and hard to swallow, with the distinct aftertaste of earwax. She made a face, much to Jayde's amusement. The girl had been protesting against the visit ever since they had come back from holidays. There had already been two weeks of being interrogated in pure mermish, during every conversation that wasn't during a lesson, yet it was still only with a lot of cajoling that Rose had made her agree. The Weasley honestly thought that her head would explode from the new grammar and vocabulary that was being force fed to her.

But it would be worth it – that she was certain of. She slipped into the water, her breathing shallow as the cold set in. Jayde looked at her worried for a moment. The only reason the visit today had been 'sanctioned' was because the much dreaded 'mentoring' sessions would begin soon. Rose hadn't said much about the issue since the confrontation in the common room those weeks ago, yet Jayde could feel the tension between the two.

They had been amicable before. Something had happened between them during the previous term, though Jayde never worked out what, something that had made them, not friends exactly, but closer than just mere classmates. It was over now – that was half the reason she had finally agreed to accompany her. Rose desperately needed some cheering up, a project to keep her busy and there was nothing like learning an entirely alien language in preparation for a trip to the lake people's city, to do the job.

Perhaps that was mistake though, considering Rose's lips had gone blue and there were still no gills "Isn't something meant to be happening around about now?"

Rose held a hand up, to indicate silence, even as her shivering became more pronounced. Then, she doubled over, her face contorting in pain. She began to sink and Jayde in panic dived underneath to catch her before she could drown. The water supported her weight as the half mer pulled the girl to the surface, taking short, shallow breaths as though the air just didn't have enough oxygen to support her.

"Rose?" Jayde said, her voice frantic "Rose!" If she heard, she made no indication as what Jayde prayed was the transformation took place. Jayde began to swim to the edge, mumbling under her breath about how she knew that this was a bad idea, and that she shouldn't have agreed to it, regardless of the circumstances. How they should have told the teachers, so someone knew what they were attempting.

Jayde put her hands under Rose's armpits and was about to push her up onto the trellis when she stopped breathing. Jayde's eyes went wide and she almost dropped the girl as a cold sinking feeling engulfed her. Her mouth hung open for a moment and the Weasley slipped from her slackened fingers.

Jayde immediately dived under to collect her friend, but she came up short. Where was she? She peered through the dark water, her eyesight infinitely better than it was in her human form, but she couldn't see her anywhere.

Suddenly she felt something pull at her tail and she swung around to see Rose laughing. Her face hardened and she grabbed her by the shoulders "How dare you do that to me" she shouted, and Rose's face immediately went serious.

"Do what?" she asked "Attack you? I'm sorry – I won't do it again…"

"Not that – why didn't you tell me about the transformation – I thought you had died!" Jayde's voice was a strange mixture of relief, anger and fear. It was a combination that left a lead weight in the pit of Rose's stomach and a heavy feeling of guilt

"There isn't much recorded on the transformation process, other than it hasn't been attempted much by divers as the initial staged emanates death in a way that disturbs the people on board"

Jayde looked at her incomprehensibly "And you didn't think this pertinent to tell me" she asked, taking a deep breath of water and forcing it out sharply through her gill.

"I didn't think it would be that bad to be honest…" she looked at Jayde who was obviously still very much in shock "I am really sorry. I just didn't think about how it would affect you. I'm very selfish when it comes to my research and I forget that what I do or feel won't just be relevant for me"

Jayde sighed, still annoyed. Brown eyes met green and the Weasley breathed a sigh of relief as she appeared to be forgiven. "Come on then" she said "Time is a-racing"

Jayde put her head in her hands for a moment before looking Rose over for a second. She nodded approvingly. The Undahelo had certainly done its job. Rose now had two, very effective sets of gills on either side of her neck, as well as webbing that was appearing on her as they spoke. Her eyes had grown to a degree that was nearly comical, though Jayde was positive that her form probably had around the same features.

"Come – we go… now… to… house" Rose began, her voice the flowing, syllabic language that the merpeople adopted whilst away from witches and wizards. Very few non-mer knew of this portion of the culture, for they only disclosed it to a small number and usually with a vow of secrecy. As one of them, Jayde was allowed the privilege in her own tribe, if not amongst this one, to bestow the secret upon one person of her choice, though she quite often doubted whether Rose honestly understood the honour that she had been granted.

"Not quite sharp enough on the last vowel" Jayde corrected, almost on automatic, as she sensed the water around her to orientate herself to the murky surroundings. "It's this way"

They swam for a good half hour, with Jayde relentlessly questioning her companion in fluent mermish the different rules and customs that were vital in order for her to make a good first impression on the Chieftain that she would be introduced to. The lesson was abruptly ended when Rose excitedly looked down and pointed at something.

Underneath them was what appeared to be a large, elaborately decorated cave. But that wasn't what Rose appeared to be looking at. What had caught her friend's attention, was the mermaid that had just swam out of the grotto, a food-laden tray in one hand, and a small baby in the crook of the other arm. Swimming alongside her was a little girl, who swam in around her mother's fin until the woman turned around to chastise the child. The little merchild pouted and stayed for a moment as the mermaid called something that Rose couldn't decipher. From the kelp maze that adorned the side of what Rose realised to be a house, a merman appeared, carrying a large net full of kelp and what appeared to be shellfish. He swam to the woman and spoke to her in a soft voice, kissing her lightly and tickling the baby, who giggled delightedly. He looked at the little girl who threw herself at him and began talking in a loud voice about, from what little Rose could decipher, what she had done that day. He looked at his partner with an exaggerated look of interest and winked. The mermaid flushed a darker blue, sending a loving look that sent a stab of pain through Rose. When was the last time her family had…

"It's rude to stare you know" Jayde said softly and Rose jumped as though burned

"I… I didn't mean…" she was cut off by a pointed look from Jayde. Rose looked down and continued in fragmented mermish "Interested… never seen… mer very human"

Jayde smiled slightly, saying the sentence first in mermish, then translating it "We need to swim down. We reached the non swim zone quicker than I thought we would and we'll be chased soon if we aren't careful"

"Chased?" Rose repeated, the new word foreign in her mouth "Why?"

"You can't swim above 50 metres without a licence once you reach the outer suburbs. I'm sure we've covered this" Jayde replied. Rose nodded a second and opened her mouth to say something. She paused and instead just motioned downwards. The half mer laughed softly and took the lead, acting as the perfect tour guide as she took them through a near abandoned village that was only a 10 minute swim away. Rose felt the atmosphere change the moment they entered the vicinity.

"Where… person?" Rose asked, looking around.

Jayde looked back, seemingly oblivious to tension that was causing her friend to squirm in discomfort "It's a working day – the majority are working to get stuff for trading at the market in a cycle's time. The children are at _almolrasa…_"

Jayde trailed off, mumbling softly to herself as though she had completely forgotten about Rose's existence. Her eyes were confused when she turned back, almost as an afterthought. "You're right – where is everybody?"

"I thought you just said…" Rose started, speaking in English as so to convey herself easily in Jayde's sudden distress. The half mer was mumbling to herself again and the Weasley swam up to touch her shoulder. The girl spun suddenly, her eye's wide with fright. They were bottomless pits, full of fear that made Rose almost sick with an echoing dread "He's here… the darkness… the black… the forbidden name… hidden… should be hidden… must swim… hide… danger… warn… dark… so dark"

"Jayde? Jayde – stop that. What are you doing? Jayde?" There was no response, just an animal like terror that sent Rose into panic. She grabbed her friend's shoulders and shook her the best she could in the thick medium. The glazed over eyes suddenly cleared.

"What are you doing that for?" she asked, tilting her head with confusion. She looked over her friend "Are you alright – should we go back to the surface? You're as white as a sheet"

Rose shook her head numbly, as she stared at Jayde "You… you… what?"

"Is everything OK?" Jayde asked again, her eyes filled with concern. Rose shook her head. "No – everything is fine"

They continued swimming towards the mermaid city, and Rose mulled over what had happened in her head. The oppressive vibes that she had felt so clearly in the village became heavier and heavier as they neared the city, yet Jayde seemed as oblivious of it as she had before her… episode. She wondered whether she should tell the half mer about what had happened. But then, she probably wouldn't allow the continuation of their descent to the kingdom, so after a bit of deliberation, Rose decided to bring up the topic once they had safely returned to the surface.

All thoughts of returning left Rose's head however, once she had reached the capital. Jayde just smiled as she took in her friend's gobsmacked expression "What?" She asked "You didn't really think the mer lived in those ruins that your Uncle swam to in the triwizard tournament?"

The city was vast, large in a way Rose didn't really think possible. It vaguely reminded her of pictures she had seen of muggle New York, but that was an awful comparison at best. There were gleaming turrets, large mosaics, streets that had mer children playing with each other, in fits of giggles that left Rose dazed. The streets branched, and were laden with cobble-like tiling, making up intricate patterns that gleamed and glistened in the light. On the walls, there were lanterns that shone and sparkled off the buildings, all of which seemed to glow independently, making ethereal ripples of lights that dazzled her completely. But the thing that really made Rose reel was an element that she just could not name. Perhaps it was the peacefulness of the place that was so obviously bustling with activity yet did not betray any of it. Or perhaps it was the way Rose felt like no more than a mouse looking up at a structure similar to that of the Empire State building.

The spell was broken as she heard Jayde laugh beside her "Come on – and expect an awful welcome"

Jayde suddenly dive all the way down to the sea bed, and completely confused, Rose followed. The mer swam in and out of a coral reef that had somehow made its home on the bottom of a freezing cold lake in Scotland, seemingly looking for something. She tilted her head as though listening, before a look of sudden enlightenment adorned her face. "It's this way" she said, and swam around, alongside a large, mud wall that Rose could have sworn hadn't been there before.

They stopped in front of a cave and Rose finally asked what was going on "We're having to go the formal entrance because you haven't been allowed access to the city yet" Jayde said impatiently, as they reached the back of the cavern.

"Great – now what?" Rose asked impatiently, that feeling of oppression and dread weighing heavier on her mind as time went on. It was almost as though it were getting closer, and closer, and closer and…

A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, her wand in her hand within seconds. The tension disappeared as though it had never existed. Unfortunately, a new tension arose, as also in those couple of seconds, she found herself with a spear aimed at her throat. She gulped, feeling the sharp metallic point, as well as Jayde's finger's tightening their grip.

"Rose – put your wand away now" Jayde's voice was like nothing Rose had ever heard from her before. It was commanding, sharp and angry and made everything in the Weasley want to fight back. But, in the interests of saving her own life, Rose figured it would probably be best to listen and to trust her friend.

The half mer spoke fluently to the guards, gesturing wildly in what the red head assumed, was her defence. The guards didn't seem to want to relent in any way, but after a few moments of arguing, they nodded. Rose smiled happily and proceeded to swim towards Jayde. The spear dug into her throat again. Jayde looked at her blackly "Your stupidity means you are to be escorted to the _Arparan_"

Rose looked at her friend in surprise. She had never been spoken to as harshly as she had been now by the half mer. She looked up into her eyes and flinched. They were filled with something akin to disgust. Grey eyes flashed across her vision at the sight and she shook her head to rid herself of the image. The movement had the spear dig more firmly into the base of her throat. She could feel her hands being tied, and she closed her eyes, fighting the urge to draw her wand and just flee. She trusted Jayde more than that, or that was what she told herself. Once her hands were tied, she was escorted through the back wall of the cavern, which seemed to have a magic on it similar to that of platform 9 and ¾ at King's Cross Station. That made Rose double take. The merpeople weren't witches or wizards. They shouldn't have the ability to pull off such complex warding.

But she didn't have much time to worry about that however as they entered the city. Children swam quickly into the back alleys as they saw her, the adults stopping with their eyes wide with shock, dropping their possessions or swimming away. Rose looked down, acid burning in her throat. Was she really so bad? Were her kind really that awful as to deserve that sort of reaction?

That question was answered at the sudden flurry of mermish shrieking that was aimed at her, obviously insults of some kind. The brave individual was quickly back up by more and Rose suddenly became a public spectacle. She felt the ripples of the water as something glided past her, narrowly missing her head. She looked up and the crowds surged backwards, completely silent, before continuing their jeering as though suddenly realising that she couldn't really do anything. Rose wished she could cover her ears at the noise, deafening in its intensity. She looked up at Jayde, not bearing to look at the merpeople that she had somehow offended so grievously that they wished her dead, or at least unable to hear.

Another missile narrowly missed its target when the guards finally spoke. The words were fluent and seemed to cause quite a stir, the syllables somehow managing to float over the crowds to be heard by all. Rose closed her eyes, her head throbbing and her heartbeat echoing in the now silent streets. She couldn't bring herself to concentrate on any of the words that the guards were saying, but it seemed to placate the crowds and allowed them to continue in relative peace.

Rose knew the point that they had reached the Chieftain's residence, as everything was quiet. There was no mumbling, no soft screams or gasps of surprise, no children calling for their mothers, no mothers calling for their little ones. In comparison to the outside, it was a relief if not relatively eerie.

She was deposited on the floor, the water for some reason no longer supporting her. She opened her eyes a fraction, before instantaneously closing them again as the white light deafened her. She felt the soft membrane of a fin brush the bare skin that had become visible on the small of her back and reluctantly she looked up to see Jayde. She slowly began to sit up, taking deep mouthfuls of water, feeling the undahelo filter out the water before sending the oxygen to her lungs. Taking larger gulps probably wasn't helping her breathe though, regardless of the comforting familiarity of the movement.

It took a moment for her vision to clear and she saw Jayde. She smiled and opened her mouth to speak, when Jayde shook her head. She turned and suddenly saw the reason for the deference in her eyes. Rose bowed her head, not making eye contact, as she mumbled the soft syllabic greeting required when meeting a person of high standing for the first time.

She felt fingers under her chin softly coax her head upwards. "We have been expecting you"

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**I have have a change to chapter 9. It is nothing major - just a paragraph - but if you want to have a look. It was a little bit added about the state of the lake. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please, please review! I will even resort to bribery - anyone who reviews and gives me a means of contacting them, will get a small preview of the next chapter! So please review!**


	14. One of Those

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

Rose shivered as she sat down on the chair, running her finger along the thin brown membrane of what used to be her feet. She held her head in her hands as she watched Jayde swim over the long table, an act quite frowned upon in polite society, and look up at the leader defiantly. The look reminded the Weasley of James, when he was absolutely positive that there was a small nest of bowtruckles in the Rowan tree in Grandma Molly's forest. He told the new wand maker in Diagon Alley, even though he was slightly fearful and in awe of the intimidating figure. The man immediately refused the suggestion as impossible considering that Bowtruckles only nested in trees that were suitable for wand harvesting. The Weasley forest had been checked already and wand trees didn't just grow. James had been rather disappointed at the man's reaction, even though the wizard had been nothing but kind about it. Rose subtly addressed the issue later along with photographic evidence and the tree was harvested and now made up the wood of all of the Potter children's wands. James had sworn himself to forever be in her debt from that point onwards.

Rose chuckled despite the pain the memory caused her, unintentionally bringing the attention onto herself.

"Why are you laughing?" Jayde screeched as the chieftain looked down on her in a way that made her bristle.

"I'm sorry – do continue with your argument. It was actually becoming quite amusing" Rose quipped and Jayde raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have anything to say about this?" Jayde said, "I mean, you are the one they set the task to"

Rose pondered for a moment before saying "You told me that they would not trust me, that I would need to prove myself. I was prepared to perform a task of some sorts to show them that proof. So therefore, I figured this was coming"

The chieftain looked as though he were torn between being angry and amused at the blasé nature of the red head's reply. "You understand the nature of the task at hand?"

Rose nodded "There is something of a dark nature that has been affecting the lake environment. You want me to retrieve it, identify it, and subsequently remove it. Is that about all? Piece of cake" She turned her nose up arrogantly, as though the task was beneath her and Jayde held her head in her hands in despair.

"Way to go Rose – let's annoy the leader that is probably the only thing that is stopping a large angry mob from tearing you to pieces"

"I don't think you have any right to talk – you were right alongside them, egging them on earlier" The venom in the statement came from nowhere and Rose looked like she regretted it from the moment the words had left her mouth.

"Oh – is this what this little 'I don't care less' nature has come from. You're mad at me?" Jayde stared at her friend in disbelief, when guilt flashed across Rose's eyes.

"God – a bit self obsessed aren't you?" The Weasley recovered quickly, putting her hands on her hips and swimming to face her 'opponent' "Has it not occurred to you that perhaps I already know what I'm planning on doing with the task?"

"No – because unfortunately you have not cared to honour me with the knowledge of what exactly you do and don't know"

"Shall we start with the don'ts – it won't take as long" Rose sneered, glaring at Jayde and every inch the Slytherin that she was sorted as.

"You shall stop this nonsense immediately" The voice of the Chieftain washed over both of the girls making them turn and stare at the suddenly very imposing merman. "This foolishness is no way for a person of my tribe to behave, and definitely not a guest"

Both girls had the decency to look ashamed. Rose looked up, tilting her head slightly in curiosity, all fear seeming to vanish into thin air "I understand the task I have been given, but what I do not understand is why me? Why do you set me, the untrustworthy mortal child, a task that I am sure that you could achieve with your guards a lot more efficiently that I shall"

The chieftain looked down at her "That is information that needn't be known. Now – your undahelo will run out in about 15 minutes. You may collect a supply for your next visit, which will be within the next moon cycle"

Rose looked ready to protest, but the chieftain made it obvious that this was completely non-negotiable. She swore softly under her breath before looking around, as though she expected to be chastised for the indiscretion. Upon realising that her mother wasn't going to swoop down and cast an unpleasant charm that caused foul tasting soap bubbles to appear in her mouth, she reluctantly nodded and ushered Jayde, who scowled angrily at her. They swam out of the castle and were escorted by the guards to the city walls. This time, the streets were near empty apart from a couple of red finned merpeople, who swam slowly down the silent streets.

"Who are they?" Rose whispered and Jayde, seeming to forget their previous argument for a moment shook her head.

"Just don't ask" the half mer said, her eyes downcast

Rose scowled but continued onwards. But the image burned in her mind. They all looked sad, and listless, nothing like all the others that she had seen there. Even the servants in the palace looked better those mermaids did, with their shining blond hair piled up in braids on their head, and their skin paler than that of any of the other merpeople she had seen. They looked almost of a different race, which was perfectly plausible Rose pondered.

Her undahelo ran out just as she pushed herself onto the trellis. "Perfectly timed" she said happily to Jayde, ignoring the image of those mermaids that seemed to have imprinted itself into her brain. She checked on the new batch that she had unenthusiastically been given by a merman on the edge of the 'non-swim' zone. She smiled slightly. The man had looked at her as though he thought she was going to bite his arm off instead of just receiving the black weed that he held gingerly between his fingertips the way you might hand feed a venomous snake. She only realised that the half mer was glaring at her, when she looked up and startled at the angry look on her face.

"What did you think that you were doing back there?" Jayde asked "He was the chieftain and you were acting as though he a kid. Would you treat the Minister that way?" Rose remained silent, and it was only then that Jayde realised that Rose's façade had cracked. Her shoulders were trembling softly as she struggled to hide her soft sobbing. Her anger melted away and she bent down to comfort her friend "Hey, shh now. It's OK"

Rose took a deep breath "I couldn't act any other way" she said eventually, her voice more vulnerable than Jayde had ever heard it before. "I couldn't cope otherwise. I had just been paraded through the streets and attacked Jayde – how did you expect me to react?" She began mumbling to herself, as Jayde wrapped an arm around her shoulders "How am I going to do this? I don't know what I'm going to do – and what if I can't do it? And what aren't they telling me – there was something else" The tears disappeared as quickly as they had started as Rose looked in the half mer's eyes, the last part of her own monologue appearing to have intrigued her. "What are they hiding?"

She took a deep breath to compose herself, before standing up suddenly and looking down at Jayde with an impatient expression. The determination on her face was not marred by the red of her eyes or the tear tracks that were visible down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes. "Come on – let's go. I need to find Hagrid"

* * *

The half giant was surprisingly hard to find for a groundskeeper. Eventually, with the help of the Maurader's map, the two had worked out that he was, for some unknown reason in a disused classroom on the third floor. Upon arriving at the large oak door, both out of breath from running the flights of stairs, they were both surprised and rather annoyed to find it empty. Rose looked at the map, which for some reason still had the label 'Rebeus Hagrid' written in an elegant script in the centre of the room.

"Is it not working?" Jayde asked, looking over Rose's shoulder. The red head shook her head, holding the parchement out in front of her by the tips of her thumb and forefinger, as though if she stared at it for long enough it would instantaneously change to what she wanted it to.

"It can't just not work" She said, frustration showing in her voice "The spells on it just don't allow it to 'not work'"

"Well maybe" Jayde continued, sarcasm heavy in her voice "Your spell casting just isn't as good as you thought it was"

Rose sighed "It uses a simple magic detecting charm combined with an identification and tracking spell. This is combined with a map of the castle and put into a visual format. There isn't really much there to go wrong!"

"Well, what happens if the person goes somewhere that isn't actually on the map?" Jayde asked, staring at Rose as though she had missed something very obvious.

"It stops showing their name or begins malfunctioning by showing their names in random parts of the…" Rose trailed off, understanding illuminating in her eyes

"Now she gets it" Jayde mumbled even as her friend turned around, grabbing her into a hug. The half mer stiffened at the sudden movement, her heart beating faster. Rose's brow furrowed as fear flitted across her friend's eyes. She opened her mouth to comment, but restrained herself at the last moment. Jayde looked at her gratefully, before clearing her throat "Well, now that you have finally worked out what was wrong, we have to work out what has been happening"

"No need" Rose said, picking up the map which had fallen from her grip in her impromptu display of affection. She pointed at the label that had magically reappeared on the map, next to the forbidden forest. She looked at Jayde, her eyebrows raised. "Where has he been to we think?"

"I think that it is none of our business" Jayde said, mimicking Rose's expression. The red head mockingly frowned and playfully hit the girl on the arm in retaliation.

"I disagree, now let's go" Rose said, heading towards the door. Jayde sighed and reluctantly followed, holding out her hand to receive the seemingly innocuous parchment that her friend seemed to write off so easily. They had only just made it down the corridor when she noticed someone coming up the corridor to meet them.

"Of all the luck" Jayde thought to herself, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Rose – I think perhaps that we should go the other way"

The red head turned and looked at her in confusion "Why? This way is as good as any"

The girl sounded affronted and Jayde resisted the urge to groan. "Stupid Slytherin pride" she thought to herself, belatedly realising that she was in that house herself. Then again, the Sorting hat did say…

"Are you coming?" Rose's voice echoed the corridor, as did the footsteps of the oncoming disaster. Jayde recognised the silence the moment it came, that awkward, tense and angry silence that always seemed to descend whenever the Malfoy heir and his to-be-mentor met.

"Hello Miss Weasley" The arrogant drawl made Jayde wince. Great – it was going to be one of _those_ arguments, when they both remained perfectly polite, just making veiled threats.

"Oh, I'm Miss Weasley now am I? That is much more polite than our last confrontation. No longer a frizzy haired, buck toothed know-it-all Gryffindor with no family, no future and no hope in ever besting the pure amazing-ness of you, the shining, pureblooded Malfoy heir?"

Jayde rethought her last assessment "Perhaps not – if she goes straight for the insults it might become one of their famous arguments?"

"I know that your awe of me may cloud you judgement at the moment Miss Weasley, for though that name is definitely appropriate for you, and I marvel at the fact you were able to fashion it on your own, for it is rather creative for an encyclopaedia-spouting nerd like yourself…" He was cut off by a flash of red just missing the side of his head and hitting the wall behind him with a flash of sparks.

Jayde looked at the pair in surprise. It was going to be one of those fights – all wands blazing, firing off lots of flashy but essentially harmless spells until everyone around the room was sufficiently impressed by their skill, or until one or both got bored. The half mer suppressed a smile. If she wasn't very much mistaken, neither would really bother with the whole showmanship of a proper duel. There weren't enough people around to make it worth it. In fact, it was one of those very rare moments that Scorpius only had Crabbe and Goyle with him, both of which had their wands out as though they could actually tell one end of it from the other.

Scorpius sighed and lazily flashed a spell in retaliation that missed the girl by a mile. Rose's lips twitched and she could have sworn that she could see the ghost of an answering amusement deep in the stormy grey of her opponent's eyes. She forced a scowl.

"Unfortunately, I find myself to busy to participate in your childish games young Scorpius" she said, watching triumphantly as and annoyed blush covered his cheekbones with a very delicate pink. The Weasley continued walking down the hallway, and Jayde followed, both pleased and disappointed that the confrontation was over. It didn't really come as a surprise to either when the Malfoy put up a barrier to stop them from continuing.

"I can assure you young Rose" He put emphasis on the use of her name "My game can in no way shape or form be considered as childish. Perhaps you would do well to remember that"

The tips of Rose's ears went red, as did the majority of her face and she inwardly cursed her complexion, inherited unfortunately from her father. She continued on quickly, wondering briefly who had actually won that battle, even as Jayde broke down into fits of laughter, as she was oft to do after one of these confrontations.

"What's the matter?" Rose whined, grabbing her friend's perpetually cold hand and holding it to her burning cheeks. The half mer allowed the movement for a moment before reclaiming her hand and placing it onto her hip. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why must you always pick a fight with him?" She asked.

"Because he's an arrogant prick, just like my father said he would be" Rose answered promptly "Now – let's go! We have a groundskeeper to find"

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**Sorry this is late - I was surprisingly busy yesterday. Still - please review! I know you exist really my dear readers - prove it to me! Review please!**


	15. Suspicions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

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Hydrus looked down at the charms essay that he had planned to finish before heading back to the common room for the evening, and yawned. He needed more sleep, but the nightmares had returned with full force, stopping any idea of dozing straight in its tracks. He wondered idly whether Beato had the dreams occurring again – she always seemed to get them much worse than he did. He shivered, wondering whether she tossed and turned at night, with no one to comfort her, to wake her when her screams, silenced no doubt by some spell or another, tormented her with no hope of escape until the cold light of morning.

He looked down at his essay again and began a futile attempt to write, only ending up with an ink splattered hole for his troubles. He held his head in his hands before tucking his hair behind his ear and packing up, settling for a walk around the lake to try and clear his thoughts. He had just returned his book to the library shelf when he heard mumbled whispers from behind the bookcase leading to the restricted section. Interested in anything that wasn't his morbid imaginations, he crept closer, straining to hear.

He didn't recognise the first voice, that was struggling to piece together some sort of different language without much success, but the almost mesmerising laughter of the second he could have guessed in a heartbeat. He narrowed his eyes – it was her, and with the Weasley no doubt.

"No, no – you have it all wrong" he heard the freak say, before repeating the syllables that the Weasley had been attempting mere seconds ago, but she did it correctly. It was obvious that the red head had been completely mutilating the language, whatever it was, for the flowing notes that came from Jayde's lips were nothing like what Rose had been attempting earlier.

Rose was laughing "Well we can't all be as good as you. I've almost got the structure down"

"You are nowhere near" Jayde giggled, and through the bookshelf, Hydrus could vaguely see the freak hit her friend playfully on the arm. Hydrus felt a pang of hurt – the two of them had been inseperable ever since the start of Hogwarts, just as he and Beatrice used to be. Why was she acting like this? Why did she have to act like it was his fault, that he had deliberately made the hat put him in Slytherin whilst she went to Ravenclaw?

He turned away from the bookshelf. Their dialogue was only depressing him – there was no need to keep listening.

"So when should we return to the lake?" The freak's voice resonated in his head as though she had shouted the words, despite the fact she had actually her tone until it was barely audible.

"Not yet – he said we had a moon cycle – that's about a month isn't it?" The Weasley's voice was even harder to hear, and Hydrus amazed at the fact even Jayde could hear it, let alone him. The freak nodded in response to the question and Rose continued "I haven't much idea yet what has gone wrong. Hagrid wasn't much help, and most of the locating spells that I know either don't work in water, or don't effect dark objects"

Hydrus started and the bookshelf he was standing by creaked ominously. Dark objects? Why did they need to locate a dark object? He didn't have time to ponder however as the two girls he had been spying upon had frozen upon hearing the noise he had made. The red head looked angry at herself, and mumbled under her breath. She indicated for Jayde to go around to one side of the bookcase, and she the other. They crept along to the edge of the bookshelf, positive that no-one could leave without their noticing.

They stopped on the edge, and with one last look at one another, they jumped out from behind the shelves. They looked at each other once more, confusion clear on their face. The isle was empty.

* * *

"I can't believe that we were so stupid" Rose complained to Jayde, checking that the mufflatio charm that she had just cast was still intact. She looked at Jayde sharply when she was hit on the arm

"Would you stop doing that?" The half mer said "You have checked that spell at least 5 times in the last 10 minutes"

"But what if people hear us talking again – we don't know who it was that caught us in the library"

"That was yesterday – if they were going to do something with whatever they heard, which probably wasn't much considering we spent the majority of the time in the restricted section, thanks to you being all teacher's pet with Professor Blaise"

"Yes I know – the restricted section was empty which we know for certain because my revealing charm showed no-one there" Rose said dully, having repeated the argument several times since the incident yesterday. Jayde seemed determined to drill it into her friend that it wasn't soley her fault for the indiscretion the day before. Rose still wasn't listening.

"And we both forgot to switch to an innocuous topic upon exiting. It was both of our faults. Honestly – are all you Weasleys such hard work?" Jayde asked, wiping her brow mockingly.

Rose grinned "Yep – though most aren't as conscientious as me" she laughed "All play and no work, that's a Gryffindor's motto"

Jayde laughed, and reached for her friend's hand to drag her down to the Great Hall for lunch. She stopped when Rose pulled her hand away. "I have a meeting in 5 minutes about the mentoring scheme. I'll be missing the first half of lunch"

The half mer took in the red head's sudden change in demeanour "You don't have to do this" she said, putting a hand onto her shoulder "They won't kill you if you drop out or ask for a change of partner"

Rose's eyes suddenly lit up "Jayde – you are a genius! They could swap me with someone else – I mean, its no secret that me and Scorpius don't like each other" She grinned, as though she had just found the solution to world poverty. She waved goodbye to the half mer and all but sprinted down the corridor to get to the meeting that was soon to take place in classroom 401a on the fourth floor.

* * *

"Are there any questions?" The teacher's voice rang clear across the classroom, washing over Rose as she blearily sat up from where she had been lying, head down on the desk. One foot softly tapped the floor and she could see other mentors beside her, resting their chin in their hands in a most lethargic manner.

Slowly, Rose raised her hand "Sir, you have already said how you have assumed that we have all met our respective partners?"

"Yes – have you not done so Miss Weasley?" Professor Shacklebolt replied

"No – I have, but I have come to the conclusion that I would not be the best person to tutor him. You see, we do not get on" She kept her gaze firmly set on the desk, her cheeks going red.

She was surprised to hear a chuckle come from the old war hero "Ah – it's you Miss Weasley who has been paired with young Mr Malfoy? I have heard about your illustrious fights, which are apparently most dramatic"

Rose bit her lip, looking into his dark eyes. They were as warm as ever, if not very slightly reserved, due to his professional capacity, she hoped rather than any other discriminatory factor. "Which should count as evidence as to why it would not be a good idea for us to be allowed in the same vicinity, let alone on a one on one basis?"

"I apologise Miss Weasley, but changing partners is just not possible at this time. I will admit that I was as surprised as anyone about your chosen mentoree, however I was not in control of the pairing up process"

"Who was?" Rose asked, tilting her head slightly

"Not who" Kingsley said, looking at her with a twinkle in his eye, similar to that she saw in pictures of the old, illustrious Headmaster of Hogwarts. Perhaps it was just an inherent trait of aging professors. There was talk of the Headmistress retiring within the next couple of years, and the ex auror was a dead cert for the position. "But what?" He paused dramatically and Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"All of you who wrote your names down for the mentoring scheme were put into the sorting hat. Some names disappeared, some names switched roles and some names just magically appeared, hence some of you received a letter despite the fact you hadn't entered your name. The names were picked two at a time and those are the pairs that you are in now. I can just assume that the hat put you all together for a reason, including you Miss Weasley with Mr Malfoy"

"I cannot see what use it would be for either of us though" Rose argued "It would not be a conducive learning environment for either of us"

"You must stick with it for at least a month, which is about 4 sessions. I'm sure a mature girl like you can cope with that Rose"

Rose resisted the urge to cross her arms and pout. Then again, the show of immaturity might be enough to sway the Professor to her side, considering the bewildered expression he hosted when he spoke of the two of them in a partnership, and the pitying look he was giving her now. She looked up at the old auror. His face was stern once more and she sighed, an audible sigh of defeat.

"Good – are there any more questions?" He answered a couple more queries from a second year student from Ravenclaw, and a fourth year from Gryffindor, pertaining whether it would affect views on you if your partner didn't appear to improve. Finally, with only 15 minutes of lunch left, he drew the meeting to a close. "If anyone has any question about the mentoring scheme, feel free to either ask you Head of House, or find me. I expect that the majority of you will have your first session before the end of the week"

Rose stood up and, bag in hand, left before the majority of the students had even registered that they were dismissed. She walked along the corridor, popping into the Great Hall to pick up a sandwich before heading towards the library. She had a potion's project to put the finishing touches on before she went to the lesson next. Sure it was due to be handed in at some point during the next 3 weeks, but Rose had a lot of free time when it came to potions. As far as she was concerned, all other lessons could be put on the backburner.

She leant back onto her favourite chair in the entirety of the library, a hidden indent in the wall, along the aisle leading to the Restricted Section. She leant with the wall on her back and her knees bent, her work balanced on her thighs and her reading material on a small side table she had dragged once she had adopted the nook as her own. There had been a small notice-me-not charm that she had placed on the area the first time that she had found it but when Rose returned, it had been cancelled, most probably by the librarian.

She finished writing up her bibliography with a flourish of her quill that probably wasn't necessary and she began to collect her potion's things away. The copying hadn't taken as long as she had thought it would, a relief on her part considering that she had already spent an disproportionate number of hours on the task as it was, and to fill the last 15 minutes of lunch before she needed to head down to the dungeons, she got out a clean sheet of parchment and wrote out a small lesson plan for Scorpius in their first session. Just because she didn't like the boy didn't mean that she was going to put in any less than her regular 110% into his lessons. She only needed to survive 4 sessions, with the boy who needed her help less than even one of a higher year.

The bell rang and she stood up, putting her things into her bag and slipping unnoticed into the restricted section, to which she had a permanent allowance into once Professor Zabini began setting her increasingly dark potions to research and improve. She reached the very back of the wall, before pulling an empty candle holder down, the only one with no dust on in the entire room. The bookcase swung backwards and Rose, with a quick look behind her slipped inside.

She didn't see the disillusioned figure turn away from the now normal looking aisle and head quickly to his potion's class, his long blonde hair flowing behind him.

* * *

**I am SO sorry for not uploading this at the right time! I have been really busy recently and just haven't had time to write anything! I have it up now though which is a positive. Please review!**


	16. Darkness

**Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

The mentoring session was reluctantly, but efficiently arranged for the following Friday, the only evening that they were both sufficiently free to attend. Scorpius, much to Rose's astonishment, had a rather hectic social life, which when she actually though about it, shouldn't be too surprising considering who he was. The majority of Rose's engagements had been entirely fabricated in order to ensure she wasn't outdone by her opponent, but she wasn't going to mention that to anyone. She was sure that by the time Friday came about, she could have at least some outings to boast about to the stuck up, arrogant pureblood whose company she was forced to endure.

She sluggishly worked her way down the corridor, keeping an eye out for the half mer that she had been informed by a number of people, had been making her way down this passage not 5 minutes before. If she had been though, there seemed to be no sign of the girl. She gave a soft sigh and turned around to make the long trek to her transfiguration lesson. Thinking about it, that was probably where Jayde was headed considering they shared all of their classes.

There was no sign of Jayde during the lesson, which was rather irresponsible of her, as it was an assessment task today. But Jayde wouldn't just miss class for no good reason – the girl was much too paranoid about drawing attention to herself for that. Rose ran outside, towards the lake, figuring that only a direct summons from the tribe leader would make Jayde completely ignore her terrestrial duties. She had barely reached the little trellis, than Jayde hoisted her self up onto the wood, to sit there with a frown on her face, her large eyes vacant and she panted for breath, each filling of the lungs seeming to take more energy that she received.

"What happened?" Rose asked and the half mer startled, hissing and jumping into the water on pure instinct. Rose waited a moment, sitting down near the edge and soon she returned to the surface, pulling herself back up so she was eye level with the red head.

"The leader wants to see you – a progress report I'd assume"

Rose frowned "He said he'd give me a month" she said, mainly to herself, then looking at Jayde "Great – OK. Give it a week and I'll be…"

"No" Jayde interrupted "He wishes to see you in 2 cycles time"

"But that's in two days – how am I meant to work this out in 2 days?" Jayde kept on looking at her, and quickly Rose put two and two together "God – that's Friday! I have my mentoring on that day. How on earth am I going to do that?"

"Time turner?" Jayde suggested innocently

Rose stuck her tongue out at her friend before putting her head in her hands "Yes – great idea! Let's use an old machine that was destroyed in the war along with all information on the incredibly difficult method of creating them" she said sarcastically

Jayde nodded solemnly "Your mother did"

"My mother was a school before the said destroying – in fact, I think she and her friends caused it!" Rose responded "OK – I can do this! It'll be fine. If I go to the lake straight after dinner – no that won't work. Mentoring starts at 5 – won't be long enough. After the mentoring then – No – that will be even worse. We're due to end at 8 – would figure that Scorpius is an overachiever… OK – its fine. We'll skip dinner and go straight after class. That'll give me almost 2 hours so about an hour half under there"

"You do realise that you are talking to yourself don't you?" Jayde asked, amused.

"Yep" Rose said, before continuing to mutter under her breath. The half mer rolled her eyes, and took her friend's elbow and led her to Great Hall.

* * *

Rose took a deep breath of water, feeling the oxygen filtering before being sent to her lungs and around her bloodstream. She could feel the water around her, supporting her in its warm caress. In the silence of the water around her, Rose found it very easy to understand why the merpeople believed in a water goddess.

"I have officially decided that I hate that plant" Rose heard and she spun quickly around to see a very pale faced Jayde.

"Better than organ failure" Rose said and Jayde seemed to ponder on the remark for moment. She nodded her head as though she had reached a conclusion

"Still hate it" Both girls laughed, a tense, harsh sound. Unlike the soothing comfort of before, Rose could easily feel the malevolent presence that she had been charged with finding.

"Something with such a strong aura should be easy to find" Rose thought to herself "But in water, the darkness refracts everywhere. I suppose if we got close enough we could detect the change in power. But I'd need a spell"

"Would you stop mumbling over there" Jayde snapped and Rose flinched. She looked up at Jayde, whose face was the epitome of the word fear.

"Are you OK?" Rose could have hit herself. Of course she wasn't OK – her face said that for sure. Jayde looked at her and shook her head. Suddenly, she transformed back into the laughing girl that had been joking with her on the trellis. Rose frowned and Jayde copied the expression mockingly

"I would say watch out for the wind but it seems a bit degenerate down here" she said and Rose's brow furrowed more "OK – not exactly the response I expected" Jayde continued

Rose smiled, uneasy. "Are you OK?" Jayde didn't reply so she repeated the question. The half mer looked at her for a moment as though she had grown another head.

"I'm fine" Jayde said, a bit taken aback. She smiled suddenly and said in a light voice "It's you I'm worried about – honestly! You look as though the world is about to implode? Are you worried about this?" Her voice went sombre again and Rose blinked at the sudden mood swings.

"No – it's all good" They continued down to the city, playfully talking to each other in mermish, which Rose was improving greatly on, though that probably was because she was speaking it constantly even out of the water. Jayde had once joked that Rose spoke more mermish in a day than she did English. The red head was inclined to agree.

They made it to the city wall and Rose swam down, recognising the entrance they came in last time. Jayde put a hand on her arm to stop her. She looked down at her tail uncomfortably and the Weasley grimaced.

"We aren't going that way" Jayde said finally, after Rose tapped her wrist to indicate that no matter how long they waited, time was still ticking. The red head guessed that they had around 45 minutes before they'd have to start the trek back so she could get to her mentoring session on time.

"I gathered by the way you stopped me" Rose said matter of factly, her hands on her hips. Jayde cringed

"The king said we had to take the… back gate, so the subjects were not distressed by your reappearance" Jayde said and Rose nodded, not particularly surprised at the move, though it hurt more than she thought it would. No matter who by, it was painful to be so mistrusted and despised by people who didn't even know you.

"Understandable" she said, her voice blank and Jayde groaned when she saw the occlumency being put into use

"It isn't to do with you personally, just wizardkind in general" the half mer said, attempting to salvage the situation.

Rose raised an eyebrow and smiled "I know – so these back gates! Hope they aren't too far away"

Jayde grinned at her friend, but Rose didn't fail to notice that it didn't reach her eyes.

* * *

They followed the wall around to the right, the sun, low in the sky, creating a dark orange light for them to follow. Jayde looked increasingly uncomfortable, the closer they got to the entrance, and Rose noticed, the further they went around, the less well kept the wall looked. It was still well fortified, there was no disputing that, but algae grew up the walls, and large chunks of rock seemed to have fallen to lie onto the ground in large piles. The surface was rough, unlike the impressively smooth stone by the previous gates.

"Where are we? Why are we going here?" Rose asked, looking around at the wall. It was darker here she noticed, shielded from the sun by towering kelp forests. Jayde shook her head.

"Not now" she whispered, looking left and right as though fearing someone following or watching her. Rose mimicked the action, searching for their invisible audience. She looked back at the half mer and uncharacteristically dropped the subject, the look on Jayde's face worrying her. It bore the same look of discomfort as it had when she was under the influence of the dark object, yet this time Rose knew it was real.

They slowly made their way along the passage, the barricade of flora on one side and the steadily degrading, magic imbued wall on the other. The distance between the two barriers seemed to narrow as they progress, until Rose couldn't even hold move her hands away from her body for fear of touching these imposing, somehow impenetrable forces. They could no longer see the surface, and the only light source seemed to be from the glowing lichen placed at sporadic intervals along the merpeople's wall.

"How long until we get there?" Rose hissed, looking into the murky darkness of the kelp. Her mind began ceaselessly listing the vast number of creatures that could be lurking in those depths and she sternly chastised herself for the action. Jayde didn't answer her question, only stopped suddenly and held a finger to her lips. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to be listening intently for something.

"Swim!" Jayde suddenly screeched in mer, and shot off down the channel, Rose in her wake. The red head heard something crash through the kelp and suddenly realised why she was doing to water equivalent of sprinting. She sped up as fast as she could, but even as she saw the lights become more regular on the side of the wall, and saw Jayde, now a far bit in front of her, begin to study the stone intently as she zoomed past, Rose knew that she wasn't going to make it. The creature, whatever it was, had been designed for the water and was infinitely better than her at swimming. She could feel the current, caused by its body, push her forward.

Her lungs burned as she frantically gulped in more water than the undahelo could take, adrenaline pumping through her body. She kicked as hard as she could, wincing in pain as her foot connected with something hard and surprisingly warm. She pushed off of it and ignoring the throbbing tried to get ahead. She was tiring and she could almost see the creature, opening its mouth and preparing to eat her whole.

Her vision narrowed only to where Jayde was disappearing, seemingly just into the wall. It was only about 100 metres away but she wasn't going to make it. She coughed, the undahelo being overloaded and allowing small quantities of water into her lungs. She slowed down, helplessness clear in her eyes. She was going to die.

Two merpeople suddenly appeared by her side, seemingly from nowhere, with large staffs in there hand. Rose sluggishly swam past them, not really caring who they were, only that she got away. They seemed to say something in her general direction but the sound of her heartbeat drowned it out. She felt two pulses of pure energy from behind her, creating a current that pushed her forward at breakneck speed. The wall came up to meet her and she welcomed it gladly. Everything went black.

* * *

**Sorry that this is late - the internet crashed! I quite like this chapter so I hope you like it too. Please review - they really make my day to read!**


	17. Elhabid

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

The world was blurry as Rose opened her eyes to a chorus of her name being said on loop in Jayde's muffled tones. It was dark and she could see the faint outline of her friend for a moment, before being attacked in a display of affection she didn't know the half mer was capable of. Slowly, she managed to force her lead arms to move to return the embrace and said in a croaky voice "What brought this on?"

Jayde pulled away "You burned the undahelo out – we had to get you some more. We were so worried"

Rose pushed herself to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes, noticing for the first time the two merpeople standing in the corner, probably the 'we' Jayde was referring to. They looked at her mistrustfully and Rose smiled. She highly doubted that they were worried for the wizard scum they had just helped to save. Still, Rose bowed her head to them as was customary to someone you owed, making sure that it was the gesture aimed at a person who was of a higher standing than you. She resisted the urge to smirk when the two mermen preened at this subtle praise. Jayde looked at her with a strange mixture of relief at her recovery, pride at her student and approving of her actions

"Well – I really fear as to the amount of undahelo you forced down my throat so therefore let us press on. I still have an appointment to make you know"

They made there way to the gate and eventually, with a rather impressive flick of their staffs and a highly complex pattern, the wall gave way to reveal an archway, similar to that of Diagon Alley. But what was inside couldn't be any more different to the streets of the bustling wizarding town.

The street, if you could call it that considering the width, was unpaved and the polar opposite of what she had been treated to last time. It was dark, even more so than it was outside, with what appeared to be trash littering the streets. The buildings lining the sides were lopsided, and made of a myriad of materials, some of which Rose didn't even know could be used as a building material, at least not safely. The shacks were mismatched, seeming only to stay together by the foliage that was strangling the structures, each on top of the next. Jayde kept her eyes to the floor, refusing to acknowledge any of it.

And it was empty, Rose noted as they swam through the convoluted paths, watching the long shadows fearfully, as though fearing a creature would crash out of the small windows like they did from the kelp. In the other end of town, the streets were filled with playing infants, laughing and joking, their parents overseeing with a tender smile, at least until she came along. These streets were just empty, silent, just like a ghost town.

They continued in an uncomfortable silence, Jayde continually looking over her shoulder as though to check that Rose was still with them. The behaviour was confusing, but whenever Rose opened her mouth to question it, she was silenced by a shake of the half mer's head.

It was only when she heard a small cry of pain did Rose finally protest. She swam off in the other direction, in the direction of the noise. The cry of pain, ended as quickly as it started, though Rose continued to search. She ended up in a dead end, staring at the wall of presumably another house, with a rusting, corrugated iron roof, and a rag covered hole, barely large enough to class as a window at all.

A lump rose in her throat, watching the small schools of fish swim from the corner of the alley, like the aquatic version of rats, fleeing from the currents of water rippling from her as she swam to inspect the blockage in front of her. She cautiously lifted the rag so she could peer into the murky depths.

The room was small and badly lit by a small lamp like object containing the glowing lichen that lined the outer walls of the city. But what caught Rose's eye was a girl, appearing only around 17, that cowered in the corner, keeping her eyes down and shivering in noticeable terror. Her tail appeared to originally be red, but was covered in a dark substance, that seemed to be stuck to the scales. Dirty bedraggled strands of blond hung limply by her face, in disrepair but still intricately braided. The mer seemed to be hiding in the corner, and it took Rose a couple of minutes to realise that she was shielding something with her body. In her arms was a bundle, a baby who seemed impossibly thin, with an unsullied, crimson tail and dark eyes.

Now she looked properly, the woman seemed entirely too pale for her own good, dark circles making her appear sickly and emancipated, her body a mass of scars and twitching. She looked up at Rose and the Weasley flinched away from the wide, pale blue eyes. Behind the woman, Rose could vaguely make out the cause of the distressed sound moments ago. A young child was shrinking away behind the adolescent, holding his arm from which blood floated silently from between his fingers. Another, slightly older girl of around 5 years had her arm around him, her pale skin at complete contrast to her brother's green grey.

A hand was on her shoulder, dragging her away from the sight "What was that?" Rose demanded, not aiming her question at anyone in particular, nor bothering to translate it into mermish

"Nothing you need to worry about" The merman replied, taking her roughly by the shoulder and forcibly dragging her back to her companion. She struggled to comprehend what he had just said, her brain refusing to rework the foreign syllables, but rather focus on that image of the girl with the 3 children. She seemed so frightened and alone.

Rose wondered whether all the houses contained similar scenes and her eyes narrowed. "Who are they?" she asked Jayde angrily and as before Jayde shook her head.

"They are no-one" Jayde replied, taking Rose's wrist to forcibly drag her around the rest of the city to the chieftain's abode. Rose had to admit that it was shorter than going through the front gates. She was in the presence of the leader before she could fully pester Jayde about it, and she didn't much fancy her attempted liaison with the merpeople to go wrong because her stupid friend refused to tell her about what appeared to be a rather major part of tribe life.

She looked at the chief, her back straight, once more extremely grateful for her Aunt Meddie's lessons, proving to be far more useful than she ever credited them to be. Obviously Hogwarts and the surrounding area were based almost entirely on old pureblood teachings however much they tried to deny it.

"I am glad you could make it" The leader said, looking at her with his overly large black eyes. His dark green skin stood at contrast from the pale of the walls, creating a very intimidating figure

"Of course sir – may I ask why you have called such an impromptu meeting?" Rose asked, itching to complain about the lack of notice and the problems she was going to face once she reached the surface. She doubted that saying the mer chieftain decided wanted to see her would really cut it when trying to explain to Scorpius why she was late.

"The case surrounding the dark object has become more serious and I need results. The effects are spreading to higher life forms, causing endless trouble"

"What types of higher life forms?" Rose asked, her brow furrowing in concern. This would complicate things. The leader rose from the throne-like seat that headed the table and swam, gesturing for them to follow. Hesitantly, Rose obeyed, Jayde pursuing quickly after.

"It started with small things - fish, small creatures that you do not even consider in the lake. Then it started taking the lower magical life forms, around the time that your groundskeeper started to notice. Now its taking higher forms, causing fear, anger and bloodlust in them that is contrary to their nature…"

"The kelpie that attacked me" Rose whispered in understanding. The leader looked at her sharply

"Yes, those sort of creatures" he continued. "It hasn't affected us merpeople yet, but it will only be a matter of time before we shall be struck down by the plague, so we need this sorted"

"Why me?" Rose asked "You obviously have the magic to sort this – why must it be me?"

"You do not need to know that information – it's classified"

If the situation wasn't so serious, Rose would have laughed at how Ministry-like that phrase was. But this wasn't the time for jokes. She put her head in her hands – this wasn't going well. "OK – if I agree to just drop that subject, could I ask another, entirely unrelated question?"

The leader eyed her suspiciously, and Jayde mirrored the expression exactly. "Who are the merpeople that live in the back of the city – with the red fins?"

The chieftain looked at her in astonishment "Why – they're the _Elhabids_ of course" His tone made it perfectly clear that her thought that to be a perfectly obvious observation.

"They're what?" Rose pressed, as Jayde shook her head. She knew that Rose wouldn't like this at all and she tried to signal to the chief not to continue with the conversation. Rose gave her a filthy look, when the half mer placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't want to know this Rose – I know you don't"

"They're… what would you call them in human? Slaves?" The chieftain continued, looking almost triumphantly at the red head as she stood their, the word permeating through her brain.

"Slaves" she repeated, the word dirty in her mouth. "Those mer that live in the village – they are forced to serve you, for nothing?" She spat the last few words. She had inherited as her father called it, her mother's 'House Elf Syndrome'. It was something that both her parents has said would earn her a place in Gryffindor, a fact she was sure she was to be proud of. She looked at Jayde accusingly "You knew about this didn't you?"

"Of course – its been part of mer culture for centuries. Rose – you have to understand"

"You're a witch – you know that it's wrong to keep people like this. Did you see that girl in the house – the state of her? It's barbaric! How could you condone it?"

"How is it wrong?" Jayde asked, her voice becoming desperate "It has been done for thousands of years – think about our own time – Rome, Greece – the ancient wizarding societies flourished on slavery"

"Until it was abolished because it was cruel and unfair to the poor witches and wizards who had to work for the pompous old fools who brought them as though they were just cattle"

"Why must you condemn years of tradition, passed down. I grew up with them – they are happy with their lives. We feed them, give them shelter and they do us a service"

"It's inhumane" Rose argued, her eyes bright with anger

"W aren't human" the sound of the chief stopped the girls in their track "I do not care for your dislike of our customs but I ask that you continue the task for us. Unless you decide that you no longer wish to perform for us 'barbaric and inhumane' mer. If that is so, we shall escort you out and you shall not be welcome here again"

Rose seemed to consider this. It would be the right thing to do, to leave just out of principle, but what she would be missing if she did. She looked at the ground, nearly pouting, her displeasure radiating off of her "I'll do it" she said, her voice petulant, like a small child.

"Very good – now, I want a progress report for next week, and that is what I expect to here. Progress"

* * *

Rose quickly dried off her hair with a charm and got up, ready to head back to the school. The sun had almost set and a tempus charm showed that it was nearly 7:00pm. She had definitely missed her mentoring session, and hoped to reach Scorpius before he went to bed in order to apologise. She didn't want to but she owed him that at least.

She started walking determinedly up the path. She ignored the half mer who ran up behind her "Rose – wait! Don't be like this. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about them"

"Sorry you didn't tell me about what? About how you race cruelly enslaves innocent people or how you condone it?"

"They aren't people…" Jayde's face went red and Rose's eyes became murderous. The half mer backtracked "That was what I was told anyway. It's just – every family has an _Elhabid_. They don't talk, they keep to themselves. They never complain. We needn't punish them too often and the majority of them stay in the house with us. Only the freed slaves live where you saw – they are better with us"

"Why are they there though?" Rose asked, exasperated "Why don't they live in the shining city with the other, 'true' mer?"

"They can't be! They're dangerous to the others, especially the males. They haven't been brought up the way we have" Jayde sounded as though she were reciting an old argument "They are a danger to society and the people in it, so they are not allowed to live with the other mer, work with them or do anything with them really, as long as they are out of servitude"

"You don't honestly believe that?" Rose asked, her eyebrows raised. Jayde looked at her pointedly.

"It's my culture – if you don't like it then you are just as bad as everyone else"

Rose groaned and rubbed her eyes "I'm going to talk to you about it later – right now, I'm going to find a little arrogant, pureblooded snob and force myself to apologise"

Jayde didn't answer, and not particularly wanting a reply, Rose walked off towards the school, heading first towards the library just in case, by some miracle, her charge was still waiting.

* * *

To no-one's surprise, the lines of bookshelves held no Malfoy heir in their aisles. Rose held her face in her hands, before sitting down at the table that they were supposed to be meeting at. To her surprise, she found a note on the table. She checked for unwanted spells, and finding it clear, picked it up. It was from Scorpius

_Miss Weasley_

_I do not know why you found yourself unable to attend today's session, however I hope your excuse is sound for I plan on notifying Professor Shacklebolt of you commitment, or lack of, to my education. _

_Yours Faithfully_

_Scorpius Malfoy_

Rose glared at the innocuous piece of paper that lay before her and sighed. It would be just like him to tell a teacher the first moment available. She nearly ran to the Common Room, hoping to find him there. If he decided to leave it until the next day, then she might be able to persuade him otherwise. Her record was perfect and she couldn't risk him tarnishing it.

"Sanguine" Rose said, and the portrait swung forward, looking down her nose at the Weasley and mumbling to herself at the disgrace the red head was to the house. Rose wondered idly whether she would be able to talk the Headmistress into replacing the portrait.

The common room was filled with people, but for once, the only one she wanted wasn't there. Sighing, she made her way down to the dormitories and for the first time took the corridor to the public rooms. She knocked cautiously on the door and heard a voice say "Enter"

Crabbe and Goyle sat on the bed direction in front of her and in such a way that Rose was surprised that the poor piece of furniture hadn't collapsed under the weight. Nott was lying back on the right bunk, his hands behind his head as he sneered at her. "And what does a mudblood like you want in a room like this?"

"Half blood Nott" came a voice behind her, as arrogant as always. Rose spun on her heel, to see a bed that was directly behind the door, her mouth open. Was he defending her? "If you are going to insult someone I'd prefer for you to at least have some truth to it – it has more of an impact that way. So Miss Weasley" His switch of attentions took her a moment to follow, as his voice continued in the patronising tones of before "You have finally decided to grace me with your presence"

Rose scowled "I was going to say sorry for missing our session, however, your attitude makes me think that my apology is misplaced"

Scorpius stood up and Rose flinched back in surprise "You just want to avoid a black mark on your record, don't lie to me Rosie"

Rose glared at him "Well – are you going to tell the professor or not?" She hated this feeling of helplessness she associated with owing her. Actually, if she tallied up the number of times they had caught each other sneaking around the school after dark, for various undisclosed reasons, then they probably had enough blackmail material to last the remainder of the year, but she didn't count that time for some reason. She knew that their coincidental meet ups would follow her to the grave, along with the almost friendly conversations they'd shared.

"I might do – it depends on my mood tomorrow" He replied, infuriating her even more.

"Fine then" Rose shouted, the tips of her ears going red as se got annoyed with him, and she turned and slamming the door behind her. She stormed back to her room and flung herself onto the bed, screaming into her pillow. She completely ignored Jayde.

* * *

**I'm sorry for this being so late - it wasn't supposed to be! Everything has been ridiculously hectic and though that isn't much of an excuse, it was the best I can come up with. Please review anyway! They are very useful when I'm trying to get the muse to work!**

**Review**


	18. Finite Ashes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

"He's doing it on purpose" Rose complained, pacing around their dorm, to Jayde who was appearing intently interested in what she had to say, mainly for the fact it was the first the red head had really spoken to her since the whole _Elhabid _incident. "He's keeping me in suspense – keeping me tense and… Merlin he is annoying" At this point Rose flung herself onto the bed, burying her face in her pillow to emphasise the point.

"Perhaps he's just not going to tell" Jayde said, her voice timid and quite unlike her, terrified that she would insult the red head somehow and resurrect the edgy silences that had dominated the dorm for the last 6 days

"No – he's going to tell – he made that obvious" Rose said, getting up again to resume her walking up and down the room. "I mean why wouldn't he? He has perfect material now… and he still hasn't responded about the next mentoring meeting. He is just being stubborn… I know it! God I hate him the stupid…"

"Calm down" Jayde interrupted, her voice exasperated "If you are that worried, why don't you go and ask?"

"Go and ask? How can I go and…?" Rose's voice trailed off "I could go ask!"

"That is what I just said" Jayde responded, amused at the sudden mood swing.

"Yeah, yeah – I've got to go!" Rose jumped up and sprinted out of the room, her excitement clear on her face as she slammed the door behind her, leaving a very bemused Jayde in her wake.

* * *

"Granddad Kingsley?" Rose shouted as she entered his office. The dark skinned man looked up as she entered, his brow furrowed from problems that she knew had nothing to do with her

"Hey Rosie" he said, rubbing his eyes "I'm sure I told you not to call me that anymore"

"Sorry" the red head replied unashamedly, "I wondered if you could spare a minute for me"

"Of course I can" the old man said, getting up to walk for the door. He held up an envelope, the addressee written in too small a handwriting for Rose to discern, not that she didn't try. The ex auror chuckled, and tucked the letter into his robes, "I just need to send an owl out. Wait for me and I'll be back in 5 minutes" He went to leave and turned around on an afterthought, his voice suddenly stern "Do _not _touch anything. I'll be right back"

Rose nodded and waited until the man had left the room to start wandering. She sat on the chair opposite his desk, looking at the piles of papers that littered it in a disorganised fashion that most people would never have associated with the man. Granddad Kingsley had always been unsystematic with his work, hence he had removed himself from the Minister of Magic's office as soon as possible after the war, when he had adopted the position to take the wizarding community through the utter chaos that Voldemort's takeover had caused.

He had been grooming Uncle Harry to take over the job, the major reason that he had stayed on for so long, but it soon became very obvious that the boy-who-lived had no intention of ever becoming the leader of what he called, 'a defunct organisation of imbeciles'. Rose thought that was slightly harsh, especially as the Ministry had improved exponentially since Harry's initial encounters with it.

Though that was almost certainly to do with whom dad had said was probably the most unlikely person to run for election in the history of the government. Granddad Weasley had run for office 5 years after the war, when Kingsley stepped down and to the surprise of his family, he won the election and stayed in office for around 15 years, proving to be a more competent Minister than anyone had given him credit for.

After leaving the Ministry, Granddad Kingsley went travelling for a couple of years, bringing back fascinating magical artefacts that adorned the shelves around the room. His permanent return to England however, coincided with the birth of James Sirius Potter, and for the majority of the year he remained close to the Weasley and Potter families, amusing the children with stories of lost treasures, and pyramids, and the feral wizards of the Greek islands whilst being a close and understanding confident for their parents.

He started at Hogwarts when Rose was about 7, a heartbreaking experience for the girl, who wouldn't be able to see her favourite teacher for almost 3/4s of the year. She was very excited about joining the school, partly because she had hoped that the situation would be remedied, but the look of disappointment on his face when she was placed in Slytherin, regardless of the fact he probably didn't mean it, had put her off trying to visit him outside of his Professional capacity as her teacher.

Hence, she hadn't really been in his office much since she had started the school. There was nothing new on the shelves – unsurprising considering he hadn't been anywhere since her last visit, and her old favourites still sat in their places on the polished wood surfaces. She had gotten up to look at an ornate paperweight that she was almost sure was a new addition to his collection, when she saw something with her name on. Well, it didn't necessarily have _her _name on it – it could be any Rose, whether the flower or the name.

She looked at the door nervously to check for Kingsley's reappearance, before shuffling the papers on his desk until she came across the piece of parchment that she had seen. It seemed to be a letter, though only the second part. The Weasley went to put it back, but she couldn't resist reading the first few lines

… _Rose and Hugo. I can't believe what it would do to them._

_I still love him though Kingsley, I know I do. It's just… we aren't the same as we used to be. Something's different about him, or maybe it's me. It's probably me. All I do is work and work and work and I can never, ever stop. I completely understand why he's mad at me. I'm tense, I never see him or the kids anymore. But does he think that I want this? I hate it – I had to miss Hugo's performance as Oliver in his school production – I don't think he'll ever forgive me._

_I think he knows it's not entirely my fault, and that just makes him feel guilty. Ron's never been good with multiple emotions – it's one of the things that endeared me to him. And he didn't really want me to work after Rose was born anyway. I know his family is pretty traditional, and he sort of wanted someone like his mum. Not that I don't love Molly, but she isn't really what I want out of life. He soon saw it my way anyway and we've said nothing more on the subject. But what if he's resentful – like he feels he's won the argument or something. God – I can't believe how quickly things have gone downhill!_

_It's all Malfoy's fault – it's always Malfoy's fault. Why should I, just because of my birth, have to work a hundred times harder just to earn the same wage as a second rate pureblood who can barely tie his shoelaces? I don't know what they teach them anymore but I swear some of the people that I have to train can't even recite their two times table. I'm dreading when Arthur steps down – I really hope that Harry changes his mind. Everyone would vote for the boy-who-lived, regardless of Death Eater propaganda._

The letter went on and Rose felt slightly sick. The handwriting was her mother's, obvious by the pedantically neat print. It continued onto another page, the last line that she could read being 'A_nd what I told you about last week, it happened again and I actually found myself considering it. Kingsley – I actually thought about…'_

Rose didn't know what the last line was about – it was obviously something her mother had worried about before. How come she had time to write this long, angst filled letter, yet could barely spare enough to write to her daughter? She wondered how Hugo was at home, left with their dysfunctional family.

She knew things had been rocky between her father and mother for a while, but they were working on it, getting better. It definitely couldn't be as bad as it was portrayed in this letter. She looked down at the parchment, and wiped her eyes. Some of the ink was smudged on the paper, showing her mother had been crying whilst writing it.

The door clicked, and Rose rushed to put the paper back where she found it, and sitting quickly down on the chair. Granddad Kingsley walked in and looked around the room. "I don't think I left my desk like that did I Miss Rose Jane Weasley?"

"Maybe you did and you just can't remember it Granddad – you aren't as young as you used to be" she said, taking a deep breath to steady her emotions and hide them from the DADA professor.

"A fact you seem to like reminding me" Kingsley replied, checking his notes and seemingly satisfied that his adopted granddaughter hadn't fiddled with any of them "Now, what was it that you wanted to see me about?"

Rose looked down at her hands "I was just wondering whether Scorp… Mr Malfoy had come to see you"

Kingsley looked at her, amused at the changing of the name half way through "And why would that be any business of yours if he had Miss Weasley?"

"Never mind!" she said cheerfully, jumping up from the seat and exiting the room before Kingsley could even think to call her back.

* * *

Rose sat underneath the tree, the orange light of the setting sun making it painfully obvious that she was out past curfew. It didn't matter – she couldn't really care. Had her parent's been lying to her about getting better. It hadn't said so on the letter, but was it possible they were thinking of getting a divorce.

Wizarding marriages were for life, but that didn't stop multiple couples from separating and having a family outside of the original bond. It was even possible, with certain types of magic to break the bond entirely, and therefore allow remarrying to a different witch or wizard. It was uncommon, but not impossible.

She shivered, the cold night air suddenly making her aware that she was numb. She was unsure how long she had been sitting there – for a couple of hours perhaps? She slowly got up and began to walk towards the castle, when she heard something. She softly crept towards where the sound was coming from – a clearing near the forbidden forest. She peered around from behind the tree and she saw a boy, only a couple of years older than her, performing the most amazing feats of transfiguration magic she had ever seen from a wizard, feats that made her stare in shock. She heard him sigh and he bent to pick up his wand from the floor. He aimed a simple disarming charm at a log. The wood burst into flames, which died down to form a small pile of ashes. He cursed and bent down to the pile, picking something up from it, which Rose took a moment to realise was a small baby phoenix.

She gasped, before quickly covering her mouth with her hands, praying that he hadn't heard her. But still, that was impossible. Phoenix's were one of the only magical creatures that witches and wizards could not transfigure. The boy turned around and held up the little bird who squawked quietly, a parody of the song it would one day produce. He stroked the small red feathers on its head, before addressing the air around him "I know you're there"

Rose froze. She had thought that she had gotten away with it. She ducked down and out of the way, before risking a look back at him. He was still holding the chick. "This is the last time I going to practise here" he said quietly, again searching the forest for movement. There was suddenly another noise, and the boy turned towards the sound. Rose saw another girl, with wavy black hair and a dress that was entirely impractical for the purposes of a walk through the woods. The girl was silent as she stepped from around the tree to face him. The boy looked at her, and took his wand and pointing it the chick. He was silent as he cast the spell, looking only at the girl who stood several metres from him, not talking - just watching.

The quiet noises of the chick were silenced and Rose could see him throw something towards the dark haired girl, who caught it in both hands, looking at her gift with wonder. The boy smirked before turning on one heel and walking off, disappearing only a minute later.

Rose watched as the girl alternated between watching the space where he had disappeared to looking at her gift, her forget-me-not eyes glistening. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, her eyes hardened and she threw the gift as hard as she could into the forest before running off, somehow still managing to look graceful as she disappeared into the darkness.

It was another ten minutes until Rose dared move from her hiding place. She cautiously got up and walked towards the edge of the forest. She could see the object lying on the floor, the gift the boy had given her at the expense of the phoenix chick's life. She felt slightly disgusted – a phoenix was such a rare creature, so finite and this boy just killed one.

She jumped over a tree root and ran to pick up the creature. It was a wooden figurine, and in the long shadows of the trees, it took Rose a moment to figure out that it was perversely in the shape of a phoenix. The wood was deep red and seemed to radiate a type of warmth, though that was obviously Rose's overactive imagination.

She looked at the little statuette and considered putting it back where she found it. She smiled and slipped it into her pocket, its weight soothing her as she walked back towards the castle. She could barely remember the letter anymore.

* * *

**I am SO sorry for this being late! My internet crashed so I couldn't get online (which is probably the oldest excuse in the book, but is so true - I mean, have you seen modern technology?) I might just give up on trying to upload on Mondays because life has a way of just getting in the way all the time! Still - please review this chapter - tell me what you think, what you like, what you don't like...**

**Review?**


	19. Igne Tenebris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

"It will be fine" Jayde said "Now go on – I'm sure you've inherited some of your parent's Gryffindor bravery"

"I resent that" Rose said, managing to laugh regardless of the way her heart was pounding in her chest. She looked over at Jayde "I should be working on finding the dark object that is haunting the lake. I found a book in the Abraxas library that I'm sure will give me something…"

"It can wait" the half mer interrupted, taking her friend's shoulders and frog marching her to the entrance of the library. The relationship between the two had gone pretty much back to normal since yesterday evening, when Rose had mysteriously obtained a wooden statuette of a phoenix. Jayde personally didn't like the figurine much, thinking it was far too lifelike but Rose absolutely adored Ignis, as she had decided to name the block of wood. "Now – you are going to go in there and you are going to pound some knowledge into that tiny pureblood brain of his"

Rose sighed and reluctantly walked to the place that their first mentoring session had been arranged for. She was unsurprised to find Malfoy sitting at the desk, quill and parchment ready for when she arrived. He looked up upon hearing her footsteps "You decided to turn up this time then"

Rose bristled but held back the derisive comment she was about to say to him. She looked down at the desk rather than at her pupil as she said "I thought today we could assess your strengths and weaknesses so we can have a firm base point from which I can plan your lessons"

She put a thick booklet on his desk, filled with random question that she had both lifted from textbooks and created herself. Scorpius looked at her in disbelief "You want me to complete that?"

Rose moved herself to another desk and took out a quill so she could start on the potions essay she had been set. "Yes, all of it" She looked down her nose at him as he scowled at her "You'd better get going on that Mr Malfoy – you're running out of time"

"That was cruel" Jayde said, the screeching noise of the words being followed by laughter at the test Rose had set her student. "You should have told me - what I would have given to see his face"

"It was a picture" Rose admitted, following her friend's lead by talking in mermish, as she sat down by her library in their private room, preparing to mark the work. They were talking in the language almost entirely now, with Jayde only pausing to explain certain words or to correct some of Rose's incorrect grammar, which was becoming more and more sporadic. Jayde watched her for a moment with interest

"That will take all night you know" she said, "Why bother?"

Rose looked up at Jayde "He actually sat and did it – and he managed to answer almost all of the questions. That is impressive considering the majority of the topics are what we are taught in the upper years"

Jayde slumped onto the bed "Come on – does everyone in this stupid house know the entirety of the Hogwarts syllabus except for me?" she lamented

Rose seemed to ponder for a moment before replying "Yep". She ducked to avoid an expertly thrown pillow. "Now, could you please wallow in your ignorance elsewhere so I can complete this?"

Another cushion was aimed in her direction, then another and another until the half mer had to get up and steal the pillows from her friend's bed so she could lie down and continue reading a book on magical creatures she had checked out of a library. She yelped at she was suddenly attacked by her friend returning her catapulted commodities to her bed and forcibly removed Jayde from her own

"This means war" Jayde said, narrowing her eyes. Rose laughed

* * *

Jayde woke up to find herself covered in feathers and the room empty. Pulling down out of her wet hair, she sighed as she looked into the mirror, her too large eyes staring back at her from a disproportionate, grey skinned face. She reached behind her to rebind her fin before she went to find Rose, wherever she was.

It didn't take long, even without using her mer skills. The Slytherin was easy to predict. It had taken Jayde less than 10 minutes to figure out that the Weasley was in the Abraxas tunnel, and even less time to make it over there, as it was such a god forsaken hour in the morning that no-one appeared to be up yet.

Jayde looked at the plain wall, and feeling like an idiot she knocked. They had already tried to get her in without the Weasley's assistance, but it was hopeless. Unfortunately that meant that Jayde had to stand outside the passageway, looking very conspicuous until Rose could go and get the door.

Rose eventually appeared at the entrance of the passageway to let the half mer through, not even looking up from the book she was carry in one hand. She didn't say anything as Jayde followed her to the library, the table of which, now resembling the desk that Rose had dominated back in their dorm.

Books and manuscripts were spread out everywhere, some with bookmarks and some open at whatever point Rose had found the information she had required. Some of the books had been written in using removable ink, with words being underlined, or side notes being put in, linking it to other pieces of information she had found. A stack of notes all written in the girl's immaculate handwriting sat there, being penned by a disembodied quill.

"See you've made yourself at home" Jayde said, walking over to one of the books. Rose slapped her hand

"No touching" she screeched, her body an epitome of a defensive mermaid, and Jayde suddenly noticed the Pheonix sitting on the pile of cover of the book she was about to move. She looked at Rose suspiciously for a moment.

Rose looked up, relaxing slightly "Not that" She picked up the phoenix and put it gently down on a piece of parchment. She then changed her mind and put it in her pocket so she could read the piece of paper. She reached for the book and showed Jayde the runes written on the spine. The half mer looked at her blankly.

"It's protected – you need to break the runes in order to get in safely. Uncle Bill used to make them for me to practise on, though I doubt these are protected with extremely mild stinging hexes"

Jayde looked at Rose strangely, as she started talking in some sort of gibberish to a book titled 'The Seduction of the Dark Call'. The girl had definitely had a very strange childhood, not that she could really talk. Her own younger years could not be called conventional in the slightest. The book sprang open with a cloud of dark smoke that Rose immediately protected herself and Jayde from with a shield charm.

"How on earth can you do this stuff?" Jayde asked, getting slightly annoyed at the seemingly never ending list of things that Rose could do. It was unnatural.

"Practise – I've been taught this for the entirety of my life. Anyway, I'm not half as adept as some students. Give me a sec" She turned around and reached for a book that had been hazardously put back on the shelf. She nodded her head as it came free and she showed it to Jayde.

"It's a book Salazar Slytherin made that automatically records the names of students that have a high aptitude for magic. I think the sorting hat is linked to it, because a lot of them were put into Slytherin. Anyway – each student has a page that notes some of the magic they did which got them in here"

"And this is automatic you say?" Jayde asked, flicking through the pages.

Rose nodded "I mean, look that this. Elladora Maximillan nee Black, placed a shield charm around the entirety of Diagon Alley at age 13 to protect it from a magical storm that the dark wizard of the time had conjured. Arctus Black who discovered over 15 different potions before he had even finished his third year of school. Antioch Peverell who learnt to make wands at the age of 5 and was later known for creating the most powerful wand in the world – the Elder wand. Tom Riddle who was raised by muggles yet could still control his magic before he even knew Hogwarts existed. I mean that's beyond most wizard raised children"

"What about now?" Jayde asked, finding herself more interested in the subject than she thought she would

Rose flicked forwards "There's an Antares Selwyn in Gryffindor who became an animagus at the age of 8. And Hydrus Black who was able to overcome a skilled Occlumens…" She ignored Jayde's flinch at the mention of her rival "…when he was barely old enough to walk. There's me"

She flicked past her page very quickly, until Jayde stopped her "What don't you want me to see?"

Rose fidgeted. The half mer took the book out of her vaguely looked at the page that was decorated much the same way as Tom Riddle's was. "So let's see – you…"

She dropped the book and Rose automatically ducked down to pick it up, wiping the cover as though by touching the ground it had been contaminated. "It isn't as the book says it was"

"No? It seemed pretty explicit to me" Jayde said, snatching the book back from Rose and opening it to her page "Ah let's see here – Rose Weasley, cast the Cruciatus curse to full effectiveness at the age of 6? That's an unforgivable – how did you get away with that?"

"I was underage" Rose admitted "It wasn't processed as true magic. We were in Diagon Alley because mum wanted to get some stuff. I was all excited because we were going to replenish my potion stock with some new ingredients because we had just finished the fourth year text book. Mum popped inside the Quidditch shop to get James the new Tutshill Tornadoes kit for his birthday – and Hugo started fussing and everything seemed to take far too long. So I decided that I would leave and try and find Apothecary myself. I wondered down Diagon Alley and for some bizarre reason, my 6 year old self decided that going into Knockturn Alley was a good idea.

It didn't take long for me to realise that I was entirely lost so I did what mum told me and stood still, so I could wait for her to find me. When it became obvious that she wasn't coming for me, I did the next best thing and asked someone whether they could help me. The man I asked, the owner of a bookshop actually, said that these two 'nice' gentlemen would go and take me to Diagon Alley.

They didn't look like nice people at all. One had a nose that looked as though it had been broken too many times, along with teeth to match. The other had an eye patch and a face only a mother could love. They also wore tattered clothes and smelt funny, like Firewhisky, though I didn't know that then.

But I was a trusting 6 year old and I followed the men. They led me into an alley, at which point it dawned upon me that my first impressions were in fact entirely correct. They both stopped and leered at me. I didn't like it and I told them to go away, taking out my training wand. They cooed at me, laughing and jeering at how sweet I was, and they reached for me, touching me. They didn't even both removing my wand, for children's wand weren't capable of causing damage. I don't really know what I did then particularly. I just know that I didn't like them, and that I was scared so I cast a spell at them that I had found recently in a book my mother had left out and forgotten to protect against me.

I said crucio and broke the wards of the wand in one swift step and felt with it such a massive rush of power. The two men looked shocked and suddenly fell to the floor, writhing in agony. I was fascinated by it" Rose's eyes seemed to glaze over at the memory "I didn't know that it should have been impossible for me to perform it. Perhaps that was why it worked. I just know that the longer I held it, the stronger and the less afraid I felt.

I released the curse when I heard someone come around the corner, lowering my wand. I saw it was mum and she picked me up immediately and gave me a big hug as I felt the power drain of a lifetime, the first of many I would put myself through. I was out for about 3 weeks, and unable to perform magic for about twice that due to lack of magical power reserves. Apparently, I was lucky that I didn't make myself a squib.

I'm still not really sure whether anyone realised what I actually performed, because according to Uncle Harry, they were put straight into Azkaban as sex traffickers. I'm still not 100% sure that they really were" Rose trailed off, ending her story as she saw Jayde peering at her. She looked down at her feet again "I'd understand if you don't want to be friends with me anymore. I mean, if you look down my list, the majority of the points I have down there are for using dark magic"

Jayde looked up. "You haven't done anything to me so far" she conceded "And you don't show signs of…" She trailed off "I'm not pretending to know more about Dark magic apart from the fact most people seem to find it a bad thing and I gather there must be a pretty good reason for that consensus. Don't do anything stupid Rose"

Rose grinned "Got it" She looked at Jayde, her eyes widening in surprise "Wow – I didn't even know you knew that number of big words"

Jayde swatted at her shoulder "Shut up Ginger – at least I'm a good guy"

"Say that and I'll pull my wand at you"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me!"

* * *

**I am so sorry for not updating for nearly a month now. I've been really busy and everytime I sat down to write a chapter, nothing came to me! On the plus side, I now have two chapters for you, this one and another I shall give you in a couple of days! By. the way, was anyone accepted on Pottermore, or am I the only person who is obsessed enough to get a beta place?**

**Please Review!**


	20. Stolen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - my bribing J K Rowling has unfortunately yet to begin working. It shall do eventually though - I know it!**

* * *

"Father said you must come home for the holidays" Jasmine said, her voice hard even as she rested casually against the door frame leading to the boys dorm. Scorpius looked up at her, amusement clear in his eyes, though he peered at his sister with intent interest. The girl blushed and seemed to look away as though she felt guilty at her tone of voice. Scorpius smiled at her patiently, ever the helpful and considerate big brother.

"Are you sure Jas? Father knows that I have tutoring sessions that spread across the holiday. I thought that though you were planning to return to the manor, I was going to stay here" Each word was said slowly, without a hint of malice, but so patronisingly that Nott snorted and leant back against the bed, putting his hands behind his head.

"This is going to be good" he muttered, mainly to himself, but loud enough so that Scorpius could garner some enjoyment from it. Jasmine looked at him as she would a piece of dirt on her shoe, the innocence of before vanishing

"Nott – be a good little minion and take Dumb and Dumber for a little walk. I need to talk to my… brother, alone" She indicated Crabbe and Goyle with a flick of her head, the two proving her point by just looking at her blankly. The pureblood bristled and looked at Scorpius for some sort of support, narrowing his eyes at the girl in front of him. He opened his mouth to make a retort when the Malfoy heir interrupted him.

"Nott – could you please go to the library for me and inform Miss Weasley that I may be a few minutes late for our session. It seems as though Jas wishes to speak with me" Nott frowned and reluctantly pulled himself off the bed and in a pique of childish annoyance, stuck his tongue out at the female Malfoy. The girl raised an eyebrow and went into a graceful curtsey, perfect regardless of the mocking connotations.

She slammed the door behind them, taking great care to ensure that the wood hit the boys on the way out. She took silent pleasure in their yelps of pain, even as she charmed the door so they could not be overheard.

"So – does father really wish for me to be home or was that just a pitiful attempt to get me in my room alone?" Scorpius sneered

"That was unnecessary" she said, ignoring his question entirely

"What was unnecessary?" Scorpius asked, delighting at a chance to rile up his perfect little pureblood sister. "I mean, how else am I to respond to my vulnerable, dependant little sibling?" He watched anger flare in her eyes before she quickly suppressed it.

"It will take more than that to usurp my control Monsieur, I have after all been practising it a lot longer than you have" Jasmine gloated as her brother's eyes widened even as he futilely attempted to hide his reaction to her words. The flashes of memory bombarded him, once more ending with that horrible laughter that he encountered on the train.

He stood up suddenly and headed towards the door "I don't have to deal with this" he said calmly as he walked passed her. She grabbed his elbow.

"As it happens, I do have a reason to speak to you" She held up a specialist order magazine, and Scorpius wondered vaguely how she had managed to persuade the old librarian to allow the book out of the sanctuary of the library. He took it off of her, holding it out in front of him like he was afraid it might spit fire at him. Knowing how malicious Draco Malfoy could be, and how diligent a pupil he'd had in the form of his daughter, that possibility was not out of the question. "Page 34" Jasmine continued offhandedly before calmly heading out of the room.

Scorpius stood there for a moment, considering that the whole thing could just be trap. He walked over to his bed and looked at the front of the magazine, the title of _Ministry Monthly, _followed by the headline _Discussion over changing laws concerning the rights of ownership of Goblin-made-items said to be 'a step in the right direction' according to Lucius Malfoy, _telling him not only had the company failed to understand the concept of a snappy headline, but that this probably wasn't that much of a scintillating read that Jasmine would follow it too closely under normal circumstances, especially considering that she could get this news directly from the source. So why did she want him to read it?

He turned to the page that his sister had indicated, before staring in horror at the headline.

_NEW BIRTH RECORDS FOUND IN MINISTRY STORAGE_

_Earlier this month, upon the annual clearing of documentation for archiving, it was found that an entirely new box of birth certificates and automated family trees have be left unsorted in the far corner of the Department for Records and Documentation. Though the head of the office has assured us here at Ministry Monthly that these unrecorded documents have not been left due to neglect on the part of the Ministry, nor have they had any adverse affects on the family trees of those involved._

_When we went down to investigate the situation, the head of the office Mr Baggage said "We will obviously get to work on these records as soon as humanely possible. There is no true idea where the boxes have come from, nor why they are here, however we can assure the public that there will be no problems associated with this happening"_

_The boxes appear to be a mismatch of all certificates that the office hasn't sorted in the past, containing certificates ranging back from the start of the Documenting of births and deaths of all members of the wizarding society, to more modern times…_

Scorpius stopped reading, his stomach feeling as though it were filled with lead. He put down the magazine, before absently putting it into his book bag. They were going to find out, and his father would disown him, and he would be kicked out of Hogwarts, with no-one to pay the fees. He would be ridiculed.

He should have listened to that stupid hat and allowed himself to be sorted into Gryffindor. Those dim-witted lion were renowned for their reckless loyalty, nothing like the Slytherins who had made it perfectly clear that they sided by him only due to his status as son and Grandson of Draco and Lucius Malfoy, a pureblood line that had remained unblemished for more that 15 documented generations.

He shook his head. Jasmine was just trying to rile him up – though in an extremely effective way. His father would sort something out. He had to – he had promised

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Rose asked after her 'mentoree' had once more failed to perform the charm she had set him. The last mandatory session that they'd had together, had taken place two weeks ago. However, for a reason that neither could name, nor even broach as a topic of conversation, both had continued with the mentoring as though they hadn't even realised the date. And the sessions they'd had were enough that Rose could recognise patterns in his work and he had been acting uncharacteristically for the last hour, constantly staring into space, with his brow furrowed, failing to insult her even when she deliberately left herself open for it.

It worried her, especially when he looked up, and said in a voice that was entirely too light that he was fine, and that she should stop worrying about him, lest it cause her an aneurism. The use of the muggle term had caused Rose to leave a large splodge of ink in the middle of her parchment, rather than the explanation she was going to attempt. Normally that would have sparked a derivative comment from him that she would return, ending with them both being kicked out of the library and having to finish their session outside by the lake. Already she could see Madam Pince lurking in readiness for the argument, the librarian whom surely should have been too old to continue her job considering Rose had been told tales by her Grandparents about the old woman. But still she remained, as pedantic as ever, and not as nearly fond of the daughter as she was of her mother.

Rose's frowned in a mirror of the unconscious expression on Scorpius' face. She waved her hand in front of his eyes and he blinked, scowling at her "I've already said I'm fine" he said, standing up and pushing the chair "I apologise for cutting the session short Miss Weasley, but unfortunately I have a previous engagement"

Rose grabbed for his wrist to stop him, yelling his name in desperation. He spun sharply "I don't know when I gave you permission to talk to me so informally mudblood, but you aren't fit to lick the mud off my boots. Don't touch me"

He stormed off, leaving Rose in the middle of the aisle, fighting tears as the librarian came rushing up to her to inform her yet again in a screeching tone that she had once more broken the sacrosanct silence of the library, and that she was going to be escorted to the exit.

* * *

"I'm telling you that something wasn't right Jayde" Rose said as they swam down to the bottom of the lake. Her mermish was at a point now that she was nearly fluent.

"Rose would you shut up about your little pureblood boyfriend and do your stupid tests please" Jayde said "I mean, I love this lake even more than you do but you've been coming down here almost every day. How many more experiments can you do?"

"This isn't a test" Rose said, as she cast a spell at herself. There was a flash of light and she began spinning of the spot as though look for something in the distance. Jayde regarded her, confused as the red head punched the water with her fist in victory.

"I think I'm missing something here" Jayde said and Rose started swimming in new direction.

"Oh yes - …" A flash of white light hit the half mer in the face and she stopped, blinded for a moment. Suddenly, she heard a piercing ringing sound in her head "What the hell?"

"It's the detecting charm. It gets louder the closer we get. I'll take it off when we're nearer" Rose said, slowly making her way towards the ringing charm. It sort of reminded her of a Doctor Who episode she had watched when she was younger, with the companion Amelia Pond having to navigate blind through a flock of alien creatures called the weeping angels, with only a small walkie talkie to guide her. She had never been much of a fan of TV if she were honest, the alien programme being one of the only programmes she actually watched.

The noise was becoming unbearably loud and Rose was forced to turn it off and look by hand. Jayde tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the lake bottom, where there was a dark cavern, sticking out against the white sediment of the floor. Rose gave a thumbs up and swam down towards it.

"Suspicious looking hiding place – check!" Rose laughed as they both cautiously looked inside, the red head lighting it with a quick lumos, the other feeling for the vibrations coming from inside.

"It is impossible. Something is hiding it – there are no vibrations" Jayde said "Magic always has vibrations"

"Perhaps we should come back later" Rose said "When I've performed some more…"

She trailed off as she saw Jayde swim into the cave, with Gryffindor bravery that was unheard of in most Slytherins. "Great – I have to be friends with the lion don't I" she muttered to herself, only to have her her arm hit by a receding fin.

"Come on" the half mer whispered, as the darkness engulfed her and taking a deep breath, with all the reluctance she could muster, she followed Jayde into the unknown.

* * *

**The doctor who episode was on series five, episode 6 or 7 I think, called flesh and stone. It just came into my head whilst I was writing this! See - two chapters within two days of eachother - aren't I a good little author! Please reward me and review! They do make my day!**

**Please Review!**


	21. Impetu Maris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

"Lumos"

The light illuminated the walls of the cave, revealing elaborate carvings that proved the cavern to not be as empty as the two girls may have initially hoped for. Rose had her wand out in front of her defensively, both to maintain the light and to prepare for any sort of attack.

But all was still at they traversed deeper, neither daring to break the unnatural silence that seemed to be getting louder and louder until it was deafening in its intensity. Rose looked anxiously from side to side, focussing on Jayde to look for traces of the fear that the lake creatures were plagued with. The rock was smooth and it soon became apparent that the luminous lichen that adorned the walls of the mer city was also present here.

"This isn't natural" Rose uttered as she cancelled the light at the end of her wand, causing Jayde's face to become an eerie mix of green and shadows.

"I know" the half mer agreed "The mer were the ones who developed this type of plant – it requires magic to grow"

"So the mer must be a part of this?" Rose asked, seemingly unconvinced.

Jayde nodded reluctantly, betrayal clear on her face "So it seems – but why would they do that?"

Rose didn't have time to answer the question as they came up to the back of the cave, no dark object in sight. Rose ran her fingers down the stone before saying in an overly cheerful voice "Well – that was productive!"

Jayde swam up to the wall and tapped it, listening for the vibrations "It definitely has another side" she said

Rose motioned for her to move and quickly cast "Bombarda" at the blockage. Jayde opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow at the unscathed stone "That went well…"

Her words were cut off by a rumbling that seemed to reverberate down the whole cave. Jayde looked at Rose who shrugged and said in an overly childish voice "Oops?"

Small stones began to fall around them, a prelude of what Jayde could hear happening down the tunnel.

"What are we going to do?" Jayde shouted over the sound of falling rock, torn between holding her hands over her head and keeping them close to her body to protect the thin membrane between them and her hips.

"How the hell do I know?" Rose replied, in an equally high pitched, panicked tone, banging her fist against the dead end as though by doing so it would magically give way.

"Well – you'd better think of something!" Jayde said, feeling the entrance disappear "For we are officially trapped in. If I die in here Rose you are in so much trouble!"

"You're the one who decided to come in here when I wanted to do more tests" She took a deep mouthful of water before mumbling softly to herself.

"Hurry up" Jayde said, her sensitive skin feeling the falling of the rocks further up the tunnel, with a thoroughness that she was certain wasn't natural.

"I am! I don't know – sing at it!" Rose said desperately. Jayde looked at her for a moment as though she had gone mad before starting a slow, mournful song that, from what the Weasley could understand, was about a merman who loved a human girl and ended up drowning her. The cave trembled again and Rose looked up hopefully.

"Argh" Rose screamed, frustrated even more by the fact it was physically impossible for her to kick something with any degree of force. The hypnotising layers of song faded as he half mer turned to look at her.

"Any more bright ideas?" Jayde said, her voice somehow steady "Because I say we have about 3 minutes tops.

Rose took another mouthful of water and pushed it out hard from her gills, a motion she saw Jayde practise a lot "I can see that thanks" she eventually said, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She was surprised to see small red tendrils coming from her fingertips. She investigated and found a small cut on her temple, probably caused by the rock shower that even now was attacking them. She then had a brainwave.

"Blood!" She tried to collect the liquid on the ends of her fingers but quickly gave up that plan and instead abandoned all dignity to rub her head against the wall. The red smear gleamed at her tauntingly as she leaned back against it.

"That's it – I'm out of ideas" Rose said, her voice cracking. Jayde looked up at her, eyes despondent as she reached out her hand, watching as the rocks fell down the cavern, only minutes from hitting them. "You've been a good friend Fish" Rose said, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips in recognition of the cheesiness of that sentence.

"You too… Chips" Jayde replied and they both laughed softly at the ridiculousness of the nicknames they had just created. Jayde looked up suddenly, a new determination in her eyes "We are far too young to die – you said your blood didn't work right?"

The half mer took a deep breath, and against all of her instincts pressed a rock against the soft skin of her forearm. Her blood, thicker than that of any human, gathered in the cut rather than disappearing into tendrils as Rose's had done. The red stained the wall before disappearing as though absorbed by the stone. Rose lit up.

"It worked – you are a genius! I can't believe I didn't think of that"

But the wall stood solid in font of them, unmoving as the smiles slid off their faces as they felt the rocks crash behind that, the debris making cuts of their backs that Rose was dreading having to heal. They looked at one another.

"Three" Rose began, reoffering her hand

"Two" Jayde continued, taking it. They nodded at each other before saying "One" in unison and jumping at the wall just before everything caved in, leaving no trace of a passage existing at all.

"Indigo!" Jasmine called, walking calmly along the outskirts of the lake "Where are you?"

It was extremely undignified to be found alone, outside and shouting in order to find someone that by all rights should be right there beside her. She should have sent her followers out after the metamorphmagus but for some reason she felt the need to come out herself. She was already regretting the decision.

She groaned, a sound that she would allow no-one to actually hear – except perhaps the girl she was actually looking for. She looked around her, at the dark of the forest to her left and the stillness of the water to her right. Standing here wasn't getting her anywhere – perhaps she had gone to Hagrid's hut. She had displayed an unusual interest in the magical creature he had outside his… house – was that the right word? Hovel more like, she snorted to herself.

Still – it was a possibility. She was just about to make her way over there when she heard a soft exclamation. It sounded familiar and quickly, she walked closer towards the lake to investigate. She found Indigo on a bank next to the water, sitting with what looked like a muggle canvas and watercolours. The painting so far was actually surprisingly good.

"That would explain where you have been disappearing to" Jasmine said, her voice showing none of the annoyance she felt at her friend for running off like that. The metamorphmagus didn't answer, rather just pointed out into the middle of the lake. Jasmine followed the line of her finger and her eyes widened slightly in shock. There were ripples, bubbles that were coming from the centre of the lake, becoming rapidly more violent. She tugged at Indigo to move back and they were onto the bank just as a host of aquatic creatures jumped out onto the bank in some sort of suicide mission.

They flopped about, some magical and some not, flailing as though in pain. Indigo's eyes softened at the sight of the creatures' pain, and crept forwards, regardless of Jasmine's warnings. She was promptly attacked by a grindelow. She screamed and slipped backwards into the pile of creatures that in a frenzy of new energy began to attack.

"Indigo" Jasmine shouted, hoping someone would hear her. She reached out her hand and the girl struggled to reach it. Their fingers were almost touching when she saw something large and dark come out of the water. Her eyes widened. It was a kelpie, eyes dark and snorting in a violent manner that was quite unlike its normal mode of attack. It stood at the water's edge, foaming at the mouth as it sized them up.

That was impossible – Kelpies didn't live in the Hogwarts lake. They were too dangerous. She renewed her efforts, ignoring the grindelow that had jumped up and was gnawing steadily on her arm, sending drops of her pure red blood onto the sand below. She pulled at Indigo, indicating for her friend to pull her wand. She obeyed but floundered as to what spell to use

"Incendio" she cast, sending orange flames at the creatures. The kelpie took a few steps back but the others kept attacking, flapping through the fire and leaving the smell of burned flesh in the air. Jasmine kept going and finally, with an ominous pop, Indigo was free from the attacking creatures.

She wanted to look down, but knew she couldn't risk it, even as she tried to look at her metamorphmagus friend's leg through tear blurred eyes. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. It was obvious that her friend's leg was dislocated and she needed the hospital wing desperately.

"Locomotor Mortis" she cast, praying she had the strength for the second year charm. The adrenaline pumping through her system probably had something to do with her success, she thought as she hurried through the castle, ignoring the cries of both the students and the faculty members that she passed in her rush to reach the infirmary.

"Madam Clearwater – I have a student that needs your help" Somewhere along the journey Indigo had passed out from the pain. The matron took one look at bother of the girls after depositing the metamorphmagus straight onto the bed, tried to usher Jasmine in as well. The girl protested.

"I don't need any help" she said, wondering what all the fuss was about, when there were much more important things to worry about, like sectioning the lake for one "I need to see the Headmistress immediately"

"I am already here Miss Malfoy" came the voice behind her "And I agree with the Matron – you need to go to bed immediately"

Jasmine shook her head, trying to convey the urgency of her message. "The lake Headmistress – all of the creatures have gone wild. They attacked us"

The old woman's brow furrowed, the lines buried deep into her forehead as though she had repeated the gesture often. "I shall send Hagrid down"

"No – you need more than that" Jasmine began, but was interrupted by a moan of pain coming from Indigo's mouth as Madam Clearwater righted her leg "Be careful with that you idiot, or I shall send for the family Physician. I'm sure my father will be pleased to hear how the school's Matron is incapable of doing her job properly"

Madam Clearwater's mouth pursed, as though she had just sucked on a lemon, but she refrained from commenting even as Headmistress McGonagall continued, her voice disapproving "Now Miss Malfoy – there shall be none of that. Madam Clearwater is a fine physician and is much more versed in the art of healing than you are"

Jasmine muttered angrily under her breath but subsided, more for her friend's sake than anyone else's. She paused at her own thought. That was the first time she had referred to Indigo as her friend without there being some sort of underlying meaning behind it. She frowned. That was not part of the plan.

She swayed on the spot and grabbed hold of the bed post for support. Her groggy head suddenly remembered what was so important to tell the Headmistress "There… there was"

"There now child" The matron said and started to move her to the bed. Too weak to refuse, she obliged until she caught a look at herself in the mirror. Her arm was nothing more that tatters of blood and flesh. Her skin was the palest of whites apart from her eyes which were dark. Her hair was tangled and full of sand and none of her clothes had survived in anything that could be called reasonable condition.

She was being fed a potion of some sort and she took it, feeling the blood replenishing potion do its job. She was given something else, a pale fluid with a beautiful swirling surface. She took it on automatic, only afterwards remembering what it was. She struggled to speak through the Dreamless Sleep that clouded her thought processes, but before she could warn them about the Kelpie, oblivion had overtaken her.

* * *

**I'm sorry - I'm so, so sorry for not updating. There is no excuse - I just couldn't write anything. I'd sit down to do it and nothing would come, or I'd just forget and then I'd remember when it was too late to really do anything. This was actually a really hard chapter to write even though it is quite short by my standards. But still - at least it's chapter and quite a lot happens!**

**With other news, I've for some reason or another signed up to do NaNoWriMo this year. This will either mean no uploads at all during the November period, or lots because I'll be in a writing mood. I am going to try and be a good author and upload some chapters on and before schedule for the next couple of weeks though. How successful I'll be is another matter entirely!**


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